He killed Phoebe
by Sirene04
Summary: The Charmed sisters decide to take drastic measures in order to get some answers from their future Whitelighter. How much longer can Chris preserve his most feared secret? Chris (and later Cole) centric - revelation fic.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters in the story.

_Well, this is actually my first fanfic that I decided to publish, so please go easy on me :D I plan to make it a few more chapters longer - depending on if you like it or not._

…

The brown-haired man shrugged inside the crystal cage as he faced his charges and the Elder standing in the center of the attic. The atmosphere was tense to say the least, especially since he did not actually remember asking them to trap him, and well, nor did they ask for his permission to do so.

Earlier that evening, Chris planned to stop by the manor as he was out of ingredients for making potions. So when hearing Piper's call, he orbed to her without hesitation, only to be greeted by a pair of very frustrated parents plus two aunts wearing a deeply apologetic look on their faces. The half-breed wasn't even remotely certain about what they were trying to do, but he could feel in the pit of his stomach that whatever it was, he sure as hell wasn't going to like it.

Piper looked pissed, way too pissed for his liking. Not that Leo fell under a different category, but he appeared to be somewhat more furious. Even though seeing the man in such a state was something he was at least used to, the fact that the almighty Elder was furious with _**him **_still didn't quite help him to calm down. If only he could use his powers… if only he told them he was a witch right at the start he wouldn't have to worry about revealing another lie. But nooo, he just _**had**_ to play the mere Whitelighter with all the good intentions for these seven months. He hated to lie to them, but then again, maybe he wouldn't have to face them now if he kept his secret about Wyatt...

As the seconds passed by in utter silence Chris decided it was about time to play dirty in order to get things back under control and pull the guilt card. It was not a fair act and he never used it unless absolutely necessary, but for God's sake, they _**trapped**_ him in a fucking _**crystal**__**cage**_! The word "emergency" did not sound urgent enough compared to his need of getting out of that situation.

"Do you need something from me?" he asked them faking as much naivety and innocence as he possibly could, and could already tell Paige was going to break and help him. She had alw… _has_ – he had to remind himself - always been the closest to him after all.

Chris knew he was just about to get into something bad. Something, of which he would not want to see the outcome, therefore was determined to escape before it could happen – with her help. He looked at the redhead with the most pleading eyes a young man could ever make, but instead of giving in she simply broke their eye contact before he had a chance to see the shame and remorse in her gaze.

Nobody seemed to be keen on giving the Whitelighter his desired answer and so he suddenly started to have second-thoughts about his acting skills. Hell, his acting never failed him! After all, he was Chris Perry! He could manipulate a stupid reply out of them anytime he wanted. Yeah, that he could do, and would do he decided.

"Well?" he began his counterattack - apparently with no avail, as he was still not spoken to. He just needed a bit more time to work on them, but before he could continue Leo finally broke the silence and gave a death-glare to the young man.

"You know what we need, Christopher."

Christopher. Oh how much he hated to be called by his full name. He hated every single moment of the "conversations" he had to share with the Elder, as he had always been the only one referring to him as Christopher. Seems like it was one of those many things he did not change in the past… yet.

But there was no time to analyze his issues with Leo, as the three woman wanted something from him. Of course they wanted, and he just knew what would save his ass for the day… answers. Giving them answers he just could not give them, it was that simple. He realized that his strategy needed some rethinking if going into a fight against the Charmed sisters, since he was walking on a damn thin line when it came to them. Chris knew their temper well enough to keep in control, his only remaining problem however, as always, was left with no solution. His own temper that is.

"No, I don't. I don't know what you might need," He started in a quiet, rhetorical voice, trying his best to keep his usual unemotional mask together, "but I just might be able to help if you actually tell me."

"Stop playing around Christopher!" _'There he goes again,'_ thought Chris.

Leo's eyes flashed in pure hatred as he buried his gaze deep into the Whitelighter's emerald eyes. He would have sworn he saw a hint of sadness in the jade orbs and suddenly felt some kind of strange familiarity in them, but as he could not quite place it he quickly brushed the feeling away. He took a few steps in the direction of the cage Chris was standing in, paying attention not to get shocked by the invisible wall. The Elder looked like as if he was hesitating whether he should keep his calm or give into his instincts and beat the hell out of the brunette. It wasn't like he hadn't done that before.

'_Done that more than you could ever imagine,'_ Chris thought bitterly when picking the lines up from Leo's mind with his telepathy, and made an effort to shut the outside off properly. He could not help but feel a slight surge of pain making its way to his chest at the memories suddenly flashing through his mind, but overcame it quickly and strengthened himself to carry on with the façade he was living in all his life. There was no space to let old scars come up, especially not in front of the man who was the cause of just so many of them.

Leo cleared his throat before he could speak up his ex-wife lost her temper and burst out.

"You are the one who wants to turn him, aren't you?" she screamed at her Whitelighter, yet it sounded more like a statement than a question. "You came here to hurt my baby!"

It took a while until realization sunk in and even when it finally did Chris could not believe what he'd just heard. He was being accused by turning Wyatt evil.

Wyatt, the prophesied Twice-blessed child, Piper's sunshine, Leo's golden son… his _**only**_ son.

Well, at least now it made sense why he was being captured by the witches. He felt foolish for thinking they would take such drastic measures only for getting their oh-so-wanted answers. Just like that another realization hit him: he was being captured by powerful witches, who, on top of that, were standing on the side of _**good**_, and considered him to be an evil being. And evil beings they… oh shit.

"We won't let you touch him." Leo stated in a warningly low tone.

That was it. They were about to kill him, weren't they?

Chris subconsciously took a few steps backwards but he felt the power of rising electricity behind his back, what made him freeze in his tracks. He realized he was being afraid.

'_Afraid of what? They can do nothing to hurt you!' _ The brunette scolded himself and for what seemed to be like the twentieth time in the last few hours he felt incredibly stupid. He let his old habit of backing away in fear take him over, as if Leo could truly hurt him.

Oh well, maybe there was a time he could…. past tense emphasized – he kept repeating for himself, even though it wasn't completely true, and of all, he knew better than anyone. Leo has always acted like an abusive asshole towards him, in the future, and here in the past as well. He was the person Chris tried so hard to hate with all his heart, yet he could not withstand seeing the hatred and disgust in the Elder's eyes. He might despise the older man all the way he wants, but he could never deny the emotional pain their screwed up relationship causes him.

Completely unaware of their Whitelighter's inner turmoil the sisters grabbed some vials from the coffee desk in the meantime, and held them hesitantly. Piper offered one to Paige, but she just shook her head in deviant refusal. The movement instantly pulled Chris back to reality, and seeing the potions he started to seek desperately for some hint of their containment. When found none he brought himself to force his telepathic lines open and search for the answer in their thoughts.

Telepathy has always been his least favorite power, yet there were times he was forced to use it in order to avoid certain… problems. Still, it felt unnatural and uncomfortable for him to have strange thoughts in his head, so he tried to avoid using it as much as possible. Unfortunately, this was not the situation where he could allow himself the luxury of doing so.

'_Truth spell!' _He began to panic when finding what he was searching for in Paige's mind. Not that he was surprised by their plan, but a Power of Three spell with additional potions could seriously pack a punch, what he just might not be able to deflect.

He was measuring his chances of successfully tk-ing the spell when he fetched a fragment of thought through his link which he forgot to close, and once more it was from Paige. Being curious he allowed himself to peek in slightly deeper into her brain and what he found was something he kind of did not expect.

The youngest sister did not hate him the slightest bit. She liked him actually. He's been around only for seven months, and without knowing about his true identity she already _**liked**_ him! True enough, she was always the only one who cared for him, the only one who asked him about his own life between her sisters' interrogations about the future, the only one who stayed up late just to bring him coffee knowing he would search the Book for another demon. She was the first to speak to him after Bianca's death, the first to notice his weight-loss, the first to ask him if he needed any help, and the only one who believed he was there to save Wyatt. She was everything and so much more in his world. She seemed to be a lot nicer and considering towards him than the rest was, but he would never imagine her to feel this way without fully knowing the future. After all he's only been their "annoying, neurotic and bossy Whitelighter", as Piper once noted. Maybe Paige felt the connection they've shared ever since his birth. She _**must**_ have felt it.

Yet the fact she managed to hide it so well even from him did not actually help his case, as she would not defy her sisters to save him at that point, but the whole capturing thing suddenly became a simple minor issue for Chris.

An unpleasantly smirking Piper threw the vial to his legs and it crashed with a loud puff. Phoebe, clearly not enjoying what she was doing thrown another one at him which had the same effect, while Paige remained still, fixing her gaze on the floor and not moving an inch on Piper's voice calling her.

Chris let a short-lived grin take over his features, but there still was enough time for the Elder to notice. He frowned at first, but then he thought the Whitelighter believed Paige would help him, so he decided just to let it go.

'_Couldn't be any further from the truth.' _Chris realized his link was still open and quickly sewed it off, not wanting to hear more of anyone's thoughts. He did not expect the youngest Charmed One to actually help him, he just simply did not care anymore. He did not even bother to _**try**_ and deflect the spell the three of them were chanting together. At last, he realized, he wasn't completely alone… Whatever they managed to pull out of him did not change the fact that at least Paige already cared about him once.

As the Charmed ones finished their chanting Chris felt a strange warm feeling running through his body, starting at his legs and leaving him through the top of his head. A golden glow could also be seen above him, disappearing just as quickly as it came.

Leo decided not to waste a minute and test if the spell worked correctly. He looked at Piper who gave her a supporting nod so he turned to Chris once again and placed the question.

"Why did you send me to Valhalla?" Everybody could pick up the suppressed anger in his voice, yet Leo's strict features did not seem to change a bit ever since the half-breed entered the attic. Chris noticed he was unable to push the sentence "It wasn't me" out of himself, but before he could think about another lie the truth had already been voiced aloud.

"I needed you out of my way."

Now that was some seriously strong charm he's been put under. He most likely wouldn't be able to tk it even if he tried, as that wasn't something he practiced too often. But hey, a spell like that was just expected from the most powerful witches of that time, wasn't it?

Leo clenched his fists, apparently just barely able to hold himself back from sending bolts of electricity into the young man's direction. Piper gritted her teeth as well, yet neither of them was quite surprised at what he said. Everything stayed as it was at the start – they were angry and ready to kill him on the first suspicious move.

As Chris looked at the aunts he saw that Phoebe backed away quite a bit seeing Leo's condition, and that sadness lurked in Paige's gaze. She still refused to look at any of them, either signaling she was against Leo's plan, or she might just found the wooden floor suddenly very interesting.

"I wouldn't let you get hurt," he added whispering, in a childlike voice that contained so much purity Leo had trouble reminding himself whom he was facing. He had to ignore all the distractions and carry on with his private interrogation if he wanted to know what were the Whitelighter's secrets he would not talk about. And God knew how much he wanted to know them… no, he _**needed**_ to know what the boy was up to. His son was concerned after all.

Phoebe, sensing Leo's anger decided to take over the role of the interrogator, fearing that his ex-brother-in-law would really pick a fight with the poor kid. She waited until she had Chris's attention, stepped forward and waved for the rest to stay back.

"Why did you come back, Chris?"

….

_Many thanks to my beta charmedbaby11 _

_The second chapter is almost done, please review if you liked it… Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

_"I wouldn't let you get hurt," he added whispering, in a childlike voice that contained so much purity Leo had trouble reminding himself whom he was facing. He had to ignore all the distractions and carry on with his private interrogation if he wanted to know what were the Whitelighter's secrets he would not talk about. And God knew how much he wanted to know them… no, he __**needed**__ to know what the boy was up to. His son was concerned after all._

_Phoebe, sensing Leo's anger decided to take over the role of the interrogator, fearing that his ex-brother-in-law would really pick a fight with the poor kid. She waited until she had Chris's attention, stepped forward and waved for the rest to stay back._

_"Why did you come back, Chris?"_

…

That was it. He told them _that_ a million times over and over, yet they failed to hear him. No, they needed a goddamn truth spell to believe that their golden child was not as perfect as they've imagined. Sure it was hard to cope with that, especially as they were family they most likely blamed themselves for letting that happen. He just knew how that felt.

"I already told you," the young man practically shouted, "I traveled back in time to save Wyatt, so I'd appreciate if you'd stop wasting precious time with your stupid games and actually take a part in it!"

Now he was furious. Well, it wasn't like he didn't have a reason to be. Actually he reached the point to be ready to tell them whatever kind of information they needed regardless they would produce unwanted consequences, like them making his mission a hell of a lot harder. Well, not that he could do otherwise, and he just wanted to get out of their sight, it was that simple. For once in his life Chris wanted to allow himself not to care about those damn important consequences.

"I know you have a problem taking in that Wyatt is being his "Lordship" in the future, but do not take it out on the only person who actually tries to HELP!"

"Wyatt is not…" Piper would start to defend his son, but was interrupted by his middle sister who insisted on keeping her new role.

"Why was it you who came back? Why not us? Why not family?"

Chris had to think for a moment about how to answer such a question without revealing his true identity. At this rate he didn't really mind about telling them they died, or that it was Wyatt who killed them in his time-line. They deserved to suffer at least from knowing the truth… which he had to live with ever since he could remember, yet his identity was something he wouldn't mind if could be kept a secret. But was he able to lead a conversation with half-truths under a spell?

"I was the only remaining person willing to save him."

The sentence "You all died so you couldn't come back" was left hanging in the air, yet everyone got the message implied.

Working their way through the sad revelation the sisters were staring at each other, waiting for someone to talk. None of them seemed like they were going to recover from the shock anytime soon so Leo put up his coldest glare and faced the young Whitelighter again.

"Was it Wyatt?"

Before Piper could protest Chris answered with a yeah, and watched as an utterly horrified expression made its way to the faces of the four. Even the Elder let his emotions show, as he did not expect the answer to be positive. Just what kind of monster would kill his own family? Where did they go wrong? How could they fail so miserably as parents?

Piper's mind was filled with the same exact thoughts as a single teardrop slowly rolled down her cheek. She was shaking from emotions and suddenly felt nauseous, but miraculously managed to stay on her feet. Leo, noticing her crying, put his arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner, and Chris immediately flinched at the sight. It was just so unusual for him to see them so close. That was something he could never get used to, he decided silently.

Once more Phoebe recovered from the shock first and tried to get a hold of her own emotions, which was quite the task considering her empathic powers. After she shut the others out enough to concentrate she turned back to the future man and carried on in a softer tone.

"Why did he…? What happened to him?" her eyes were shining with unshed tears and Chris felt a sudden remorse for dropping such a bombshell at them, but realizing there was no turning back he tried to calm himself down and speak in the same mannerism.

"If I knew I swear I'd have changed it already, but we just couldn't figure it out no matter what. I believe it must have happened before I… aw shit! That spell is so unfair!" Chris cursed but couldn't take back what he said, nor could he fight the charm to leave the sentence unfinished.

"Before what?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow at him, knowing she would hear the truth this time, instead of the "future-consequences" crap Chris was always so crazy about.

"Before the birth of your second son." He sighted defeated and pointed his look at Piper who was still curled up in the arms of her former husband.

The oldest sister blinked a few times and looked up at the Elder who seemed to be just as dumbfounded as she was. Long moments had to pass until Leo finally got his strength back to speak.

"So we…w-we're going to have another-"

"BUT YOU BROKE US UP!" Piper yelled before he could finish, making him realize the Whitelighter indeed ruined their marriage. And if they had another child in the future, that must mean…

"You plan to murder our second child…" Leo exhaled, terrified by the thought Chris might have manipulated them into killing Wyatt's little brother. He could only hope they did not miss his conception date yet.

"How DARE you?" Piper tore herself apart from Leo's embrace and held her hands up the way she did when blowing things up. She spread her fingers but instead of sending the Whitelighter into a million pieces the explosion was caught by the crystal cage. Her sisters were staring at her shocked, while Chris stayed completely unfazed by her attempt of killing him, almost as if it was a normal, everyday action what she had just done.

Paige and Phoebe tried to calm their sister down, with no success apparently. Even after a few minutes she was still fuming and kept her hands ready to blow the brunette man up at any given moment.

"Why do you want to kill him? Is he evil too?" she asked still half-yelling, hot tears falling from her eyes.

The half-breed did not see her cry so hard ever before and the sight broke the young man. How could a simple question contain so much sadness, fell far beyond his imagination. But the question was out, the only thing left to do was to give them either a yes or a no. And the fact he was unable to lie was something not forgettable either.

"In a way yeah, he is." Chris finally managed to voice his opinion aloud, but according to his expression it must have been a topic he'd like to dig deep under the ground and never bring up again. Paige picked up his uncertainty and decided to give him the space to explain himself, despite that the rest was already full of what they've heard so far.

"What do you mean by 'in a way'?"

That was a question Chris expected and had a long explanation prepared in his mind – all the time. He knew it wasn't the brightest idea to share it exactly with _**them**_, but what other choice did he have?

"There was a time he joined Wyatt," he started a bit sadly. "It hadn't last long, but he rather choose to ignore the chaos that ruled the world in order to live the comfortable way. He simply ignored the option to live up to his heritage and help the ones in need." Chris finished bitterly, with a ton of self-hatred the others did not pick up.

"And who are you to judge my son?" Piper did not even bother to try and play nice anymore, as she was burning in pure anger with their Whitelighter. "Of course he joined Wyatt, he is his _brother_ for crying out loud! He is _family_! Family always comes first."

"But Wyatt is _**evil**_!"

"He is NOT!"

"Fine! Keep pretending I did not even come back to save him, blame me for everything that happens like you usually do, or cry your heart out in despair I-Do-Not-Care! But if you don't let me go you will miss his turning once again, and believe me, you do not want to see what that caused the first time around."

The last part made the sisters shut their mouths as they remembered their supposed-to-happen deaths, apparently caused by Wyatt.

"What did he do after that?"

"Huh?"

"You said he was with his brother only for a while. What did he do afterwards?" Leo's voice was surprisingly calm, and above all, hopeful. He hoped that the answer would prove that at least one of his children turned out right.

_'Right, that would just calm your nerves about being a shitty father, wouldn't it.'_

"He formed the Resistance." Chris stated simply, as forming rebellions would be the most natural thing in the world.

"Resistance?" Paige asked curiously, and suddenly Piper seemed to be interested in what their annoying Whitelighter had to say as well.

"A group of people fighting against Wyatt's minions. A rather large group actually…" Chris was already sick and tired with the spell forcing information out of him, and didn't bother to hide the frustration it caused him, "though they weren't a serious threat for him at the beginning, but after they expanded the Sanctuary…"

"Sanctuary?" this time phoebe cut in.

"Well, if you would allow me to finish my sentences you would already know what I am talking about," he said in his most sarcastic tone, one that he used way too often. After receiving a Glare from Piper he went on, "At first they were mainly just woman and children, magical and non-magical innocents that lived in the Sanctuary. It was the only place Wyatt couldn't sense, his brother created a shield strong enough to hide it from him," Chris stopped for a second in surprise when he noticed the proud look on Leo's face. "… so it was the only safe place they could go. About after a year there were enough men to form scout groups and fighter teams, but they could never pack a strong enough attack to cause Wyatt any serious damage."

After taking the information in Paige finally shot her head up and looked the hybrid in the eye, visibly confused.

"So he organized this whole Resistance thing to help the innocent yet you claim him to be evil?"

"You don't understand." Chris whispered.

"Then make us understand." Piper said with a confidence she did not actually feel, but she just had to see the reason why would anybody call any of her children evil.

"He'd done terrible things to keep his cover up in front of Wyatt and his demons. He'd lied and manipulated people, even killed innocents when the situation demanded…" he gave them his reasoning without as much as a flinch, but the emotions he kept bottled up while speaking were starting to drain him out. "I don't know about your definition of evil but what he'd done certainly meets the requirements in mine!"

"No, my son is not evil, I refuse to believe that! He must have had a good-enough reason for doing those things, I know that for sure! My son is not evil, he is NOT!" Piper cried the last part out and collapsed in Leo's arms. Chris understood why she was so upset, he really did, but making her believe in false illusions would only cause much more pain at the end, and the half-Whitelighter hated to see Piper in pain. Yet there was nothing he could do about it except trying to make her understand where he comes from.

"Look, whether he had a proper reason for doing all that stuff doesn't really matter." he started, but as usual someone was eager to cut him off in midway. It was the Elder this time.

"Of course it matters! If he'd done those things for a good purpose then…"

"What I'm saying has nothing to do with the Greater Good now, Leo. You second-born is the reincarnation of Camelot." Chris finished meaningfully, and saw as the Elder's eyes go wide hearing the statement. The Charmed ones noticed his bewildered expression and instantly they started demanding an explanation.

Even though there was not much time given to process the information he received, the Elder managed to collect his thoughts and memories he had concerning Camelot pretty quickly, and soon enough he begin his usual I-know-everything-like speech.

"You know Wyatt is the reincarnation of King Arthur, the heir of Excalibur," He waited for the girls to nod then carried on, "Well, what the history books are not so keen mentioning is that King Arthur was quite vulnerable when it came to his morals. The power Excalibur held would have been too much to bear for anyone, it could easily corrupt its owner. The same thing would have happened to him if it wasn't for Camelot."

When seeing the sister's blank expression Chris decided to explain them the part Leo obviously assumed they already knew, yet had no clue about.

"Despite common knowledge Camelot was not just a place. It was more like a guiding spirit that, instead of having a corporeal body, was present in every inch of a castle. He played an important role in Arthur's life. He was his guardian, his guide, sort of like a moral compass. Therefore, if Camelot would have been evil, King Arthur would have most likely followed the path he chose," he paused there to leave some time for the girls to understand his logic. "He was also the only one who could probably surpass King Arthur's powers, so he could stop him in case he walked down from the right path," the last sentence he added somewhat bitterly.

"So," the Halliwell matriarch's enraged mood immediately changed after hearing that part. "My… I mean our second child… will be more powerful than his brother?" Piper asked, apparently impressed by the fact she would be the mother of not just the Twice-Blessed child but also the reincarnation of Camelot.

"He refused to use his powers," Chris managed to by-pass the question and with that he instantly ruined Piper's moment of peace once again.

"Why?" she asked a bit disappointed.

"Power was what corrupted Wyatt. Seeing the… monster... he became… he just did not want the same thing to happen to him as well. He did not want to fight his brother." The hybrid's jade eyes were full of sadness, something neither the sisters, nor Leo had noticed until now.

"But… you said he was the leader of the Resistance…" Piper tried so hard to understand the position his second child was put into, but the Whitelighter was speaking in a very confusing way.

"Yeah, he is. But as I said the Resistance is fighting Wyatt's minions. Even though many people demanded him to fight Wyatt directly…"

"He could not hurt his brother at the end." Leo finished the sentence firmly.

"Exactly."

Piper sobbed quietly as Leo and Phoebe tried to comfort her, whispering soothing words into her ear. Paige however, could never be easily distracted and deciding they have to get over with it sooner or later she changed the topic back to a sensitive spot they seemed to overlook after hearing the whole reincarnation thing.

"You still broke Piper and Leo up," she stated with remorse as she did not want to worsen Chris's situation, but at the same time she couldn't help but being concerned about her unborn nephew's safety. Hearing Paige's words realization stuck back into the parents instantly, and they prepared themselves to fight tooth and nails for their son if it was necessary.

"I had to. I had to become your Whitelighter to get close to Wyatt, otherwise I couldn't protect him."

"But did you even think about his little brother when you split them up? It wasn't supposed to happen, Chris. Did you think about what would happen if he doesn't get conceived in time?"

_'All the time_,' he thought. After all ceasing to exist was not something sounding really enjoyable, but sacrifice was only a part of his mission, he reminded himself. A damn hard part to execute, but still.

"His birth is what wasn't supposed to-"

"Don't you dare young man…"Piper hissed while taking a few steps in the direction of the crystal-cage.

"He might be the reason for Wyatt's turning…"

"I warn you…"Piper raised her hands again, clearly with the intention of blowing Chris up, but he just went on with his explanation.

"I've been here for 7 months now, Piper, _7 months_, and I still haven't found the demon responsible for his turning! Even after 7 months I still don't have clue about what happened! If it wasn't a demon…"

"My second son is _not _evil!"

"He is Camelot for God's sake! Wyatt might have subconsciously chose the side of evil if your second…"

"NO! He helped those people in the future! He gave them shelter, he fought for their safety!"

"He was still unable to fulfill his duties as Camelot, Piper! His brother should have been his first priority, yet he failed to do his job. He doesn't have the qualities to keep Wyatt in his tracks, therefore he shouldn't be the one inheriting that kind of power…"

Truth to be told, Chris has never really been fond of his powers. He hated to be the one having more offensive powers than defensive ones, but above all, he hated the amount of that power he possessed. It only meant responsibility, which he has already enough of as it was.

"You are not somebody to decide about that!" the Elder muttered furiously, clenching his palms into fists. Just what did that man think, deciding about people's very existence? He wasn't any God, just a plain Whitelighter dammit!

"You are right, I am not. Fate will decide about his existence."

The sisters and their ex-Whitelighter frowned at Chris's words, not completely getting their meaning, yet they knew where fate was involved always brought a scary, and usually terribly ending situation. The last time they lost Prue to fate, so it was understandable that they weren't really eager on having another encounter with it.

"You need to explain that." Phoebe said, eyeballing Chris suspiciously as he continued with his train of thought.

"If he really was supposed to be born then he will be, regardless if you are together at this very moment or not. But if he was never meant to become the reincarnation of Camelot, then fate will not make the same mistake twice."

The horrified expression on Piper's face made the half-breed go on before she broke down again and started to cry.

"Don't worry, Wyatt needs the guidance of Camelot, and fate knows that. If his brother really failed at playing his role properly, Wyatt surely will be given another guide with the proper qualities."

Piper felt as blood rushed through her veins, making its way to her brain, leaving her cheeks flushed. She saw red from the pure anger she was feeling towards her current Whitelighter. He might have caused her unborn son's death, and he still had the guts to "assure" them about having another child if that happened? That was just crazy. The whole situation was crazy. She did not want to have another child, she wanted the son who helped those people in the future, who found the Resistance, and not a different one! She wanted to be proud of what he did, of whom he became. She wanted to make a better future for _him, _one that he deserved after all the suffering he probably had to go through. Yet Chris simply took the chance from her of knowing him, the chance to being his mother and it frustrated the hell out of her. Suddenly an idea popped up in her mind, and she asked excitedly:

"When is his birthday?"

Leo blinked a few times before fully comprehending his ex-wife's intention, but after he got it the Elder joined in the interrogation.

"Answer!"

Chris felt panic rapidly fogging his mind, as he started to follow what the two of them were planning. By knowing his birthday they could easily determine his conception date as well, and he had no intention of letting them know when should they… do stuff no child should know about their parents doing. He tried to fight the spell, all in vain as he realized only a few moments later.

"November the 17th." He said unpleasantly, visibly irritated by himself, "But you can't…"

"Of course we can, mister. He is our son and I will not just stand by as he becomes non-existent." Piper stated confidently, and let out a proud smile as Leo nodded supporting her.

Chris's plan was falling apart quickly. Sure, he still had the advantage coming from his true identity, but revealing his birthday was something he did not quite count on when coming to the past. He had to persuade them about letting their own child being replaced by another. Oh how ironic that was.

"No, you can't. Listen, if he is the reason…"

"You cannot know that for sure."

"But he…"

Leo stepped closer to Chris and spoke with the utmost peace and determination one could feel.

"We don't care what he had to do or what his reasons were. He is still our son and we are not getting rid of him just because a Whitelighter from the future says so. Whatever he had done is not being blamed on him, just as we don't blame Wyatt for turning… evil, as it wasn't his fault. End of discussion."

"BUT HE KILLED PHOEBE!"

…

_Okay, first of all, thank you SOOO much for the reviews people! As about some things you asked/mentioned:  
Cole will appear veery soon, and I plan to give him a pretty much important role… but the story will stay Chris-centric nonetheless ;)  
Then… I too hated the way Chris was treated by his family in the show, so yeah, payback time I guess… :D  
And finally: I know my wording and writing style is far from being good, but English is only my third language, so I am quite much still just in the learning stage. I would be lost if it wasn't for my beta (! million thanks again, charmedbaby11! :) So if you find something in the story that could be written/explained/described better then feel free to correct me, I am open to any kind of suggestions concerning my writings. _

_Thank You for reading, and please review if you liked it =)_


	3. Chapter 3

The Charmed sisters were sitting in a circle on the attic floor, waiting for Leo's return as he was putting Wyatt to sleep. The whole afternoon they had been discussing the information their Whitelighter provided them, yet could not come to a conclusion about many things he said.

The previous evening, after exclaiming the fact Piper's sons were responsible for the Charmed ones deaths, Chris escaped from the cage by simply waving his hand. With that single movement, the crystals around him were set on fire with a strange white glow and exploded. He muttered a sorry and orbed out, leaving three dumbfounded sisters and a shocked to the core Elder.

They tried to figure out what in the future could happen that things got so out of hand, but after long hours they decided that guessing was doing them no good. They needed to see with their own eyes what happened in order to understand what did they do wrong - or will do wrong to be exact. If there was one thing they agreed with their Whitelighter, it was that the future needed to be changed.

Phoebe was still smiling after seeing her older sister and Leo go all lovey-dovey again. She was already prepared to spoil her yet unborn nephew rotten. After all that was what aunts were for, weren't they?

She remained strangely ignorant to the fact that unborn nephew of hers would kill her in the future according to Chris. It wasn't that she didn't believe the Whitelighter, she did, really. It was just a feeling that told her everything could be changed if they acted while they still had the chance to do so. She was the one who came up with the idea of writing another spell, which showed them the memories of Wyatt's baby brother. Or more likely, his future self's.

Paige was yet more concerned about Chris for some reason. She never saw him acting so out of character like that afternoon.

Sure, there were times he smiled at her almost kindly, or when she saw his lifeless expression being replaced by a saddened one when he thought no one was around. One that he was hiding forcefully all the time, she imagined. His emotional mask falling apart in front of them was something she would never imagine that could happen.

After Chris left the crystal-cage without an effort, they - especially Leo - started to get an idea just how wrong they were when simply putting him under the "plain Whitelighter" category. He was anything but. Leo blamed himself for not seeing it. He was an Elder after all, he should have been able to sense his powers. Especially this kind, as energy manipulation was not something to be overlooked. One who possessed it could practically mimic it into any other kind of power they wanted, molecular combustion being one of them as they saw it hours earlier.

The Elder was angry with Chris for having another secret, yet he could understand why the Whitelighter - or more likely _part_-Whitelighter - was hiding his powers from them. From _him_. He would get just even more suspicious of him, probably accusing him of being a demon who stole that from a powerful witch.

Not that he trusted the hybrid now, not at all. He just couldn't care less about whether Chris stole his powers or was born with them. In the Leo's eyes Chris was still a threat, the only thing that changed was that now he wanted to hurt his second son instead of his first-born.

As he walked back to the attic Piper looked at him in a completely new light as it was. He was not an Elder anymore, but a father again who did not care about the rules when it came to his family. Knowing about their younger son's existence gave her a new hope for a future with the man she never stopped loving. A future where her child… _children _would not have to miss their father, nor would she have to sleep in his old T-shirts to fight her loneliness. A future where he would be around.

As the Elder sat next to her and gave her a gentle smile Phoebe could not help but smirk and suppress her well-known go-get-a-room expression which made Paige smirk as well, since she knew exactly what her middle-sister was thinking.

"So what does this spell do exactly?" Piper noticed the evil look her sisters exchanged, so she decided to concentrate to the matter at hand.

"It shows us the memories of Wyatt's baby brother. Well, the one from Chris's time I mean. I put a line in it so the charm would not pick the wrong timeline. The bad news is that I'm not sure if the memories will come in order or completely random." Phoebe explained what she was working on in the last two hours.

"Why exactly Wyatt's brother?" Leo asked with a hint of curiosity, as he missed the part when the Charmed sisters discussed that topic.

"We need to know what happens in the future, therefore we have to see someones memories who is actually a part of it. And as we sadly seem to be written out of it," Paige cleared her throat at the comment her sister made, "What? We are!" the empath clarified her opinion but her older sister thought it would be better to avoid that topic for a while. It caused them quite a headache a few hours earlier, and not wanting to relive the heated conversation they had, Piper decided to simply go on with Phoebe's explanation.

"So we either choose one of our sons, or Chris." she stated already knowing Leo's next question.

"So why not Chris?"

Piper sighted. How could she truly make him understand what she was feeling? Chris might see some concepts in an utterly different perspective than they do, "evil" being one of them. But then again, he might not… How could she tell the father of their children that she needed to see for herself what her younger had done? That she _had _to see how her children turned out?

"Look, I _know _why you are so concerned about him Leo, I really do. But we don't know for sure if he was a part of our sons' life. We will get a better understanding of their actions if we see one of their memories." she finished and added sadly, "I need to understand him, Leo."

The Elder saw the need of understanding in the eyes of his ex-wife and instantly forgot about his own curiosity about the future Whitelighter. He would do anything to make Piper happy, regardless what would it cost him. He could demand some answers from Chris later anyways.

"So when do we start?" he asked, signaling his acceptance towards the sister's plan and earning a thankful smile from Piper at the same time.

Phoebe put the copy of the hand-written spell in the center of the circle they formed as they grabbed each other's hands and the Charmed ones began to read the lines aloud. When they finished they felt a comforting warmth running through their veins, and slowly they disappeared, leaving the piece of paper in the manor.

They found themselves in a dark room with no windows, grey walls and only a large table in the center. A dozen people encircled it, sitting in a much tensed atmosphere. The majority looked like demons in their respective black clothing; one of them even had a Darklighter arrow in his lap, which made Paige frown.

"Can they…"

"I don't think so," Leo quickly assured Paige, as apparently nobody seemed to be able to see them, "we are only to see the memories, not to change them." he finished and tried to grab one of the chairs as a demonstration. His hand simply went through the wood, as if it was made from air.

"Where do you think he is?" Piper was seeking the room curiously for her second born, even though none of them had any idea what does he look like. Or at least they thought so…

"Well, he must be here somewhere." said Paige with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. Piper understood her sister's doubts as none of them seemed to find any normal looking person in the room among the strange magical creatures and a bunch of most-definitely-demons.

They decided to wait and see what would happen in the scene they got involved in and soon enough a high-pitched voice grabbed their attention.

A tiny, red-headed woman was speaking in a language none of them understood, yet Leo recognized it as a modern version of Gaulish, a very common demonic language mainly used in Europe. The woman was so small and chubby that she had to stand on a chair to actually see her audience.

"She must be an elf." Phoebe half-guessed what made Leo to nod in acknowledgement.

Once the woman was done with her speech a hooded figure stood up and took over her role as the speaker. The sisters could not see his face but for some strange reason his voice seemed extremely familiar to them. The man must have said something disturbing as some people started shaking their heads in disagreement, while others immediately voiced their own thoughts simultaneously. Soon chaos fell over the room and a loud, deranged shooting started, not much for the sisters and Leo's pleasure.

"What are they fighting over?" Paige pointed the question to Leo, but seeing his expression she realized he must have wondered the same thing himself.

Suddenly the door flew open and a very irritated Chris walked in. He didn't look much younger than the one currently making a stay in their time.

Chris was wearing a pair of jeans and a dark green T-shirt covered with a black leather coat. Apparently the young man didn't shave for a few days, nor did he brush his chocolate brown hair which covered his eyes in mops. He needed a haircut, Piper decided.

As the crowd noticed his presence the shooting immediately stopped and silence fell over the room. He stared at them for a moment with a much unpleasant look and the Charmed ones noticed that many bowed their heads, supposedly showing their… respect? However, in Leo's perspective that was more like a sign of fear.

"So much about him not being a part of our children's lives." Piper commented sarcastically. She had to admit she had mixed feelings about Chris being close to her child. She just couldn't get over the fact that the future Whitelighter openly announced his intention of erasing her son's very existence.

Chris walked up to the crowd painfully slowly and took a seat next to the hooded man. The silence lasted for minutes now and finally grew to a point that the sisters could even hear each other's breathing. Paige has just decided to ask another question when Chris suddenly broke the silence and spoke up. Much to her surprise he was talking in the same language they heard from the others.

"It's a demonic language." Leo stated with narrowed eyes and Piper could tell there was already nothing that could make him believe Chris did not stand on the darker side.

The brunette stopped only after what seemed to be a question and a few of them started to speak keenly at the same time. The Whitelighter sat quietly; visibly annoyed by the fighting the rest got into again and decided to hear out each separately. Once that was done the hooded man started to speak again, and instantly a tall yet young, black haired boy stood up and started to shoot at him angrily.

Without any kind of warning Chris got up, waved his hand lazily and sent the boy flying high across the room, only to be crashed into the nearest wall. The moment he fell Chris raised his arm, lifted him up telekinetically and with another wave of his hand started to choke him.

Seeing his stony expression the sisters stared at the scene in pure terror, while Leo stayed completely indifferent due to the fact he truly believed the half-breed was evil.

"Why aren't they doing anything?" asked Piper, noting the rest who did not move an inch to help the boy before he was choked to death. Once more the fearful, terrified expression the members of the crew wore answered her question silently.

The boy was long out of air, and after what seemed to be eternity Chris let him go of his hold. He fell to the ground with a loud dump, but before he could catch his breath the Whitelighter started another attack and he was sent into the wall once more. As he landed sounds of bones cracking could be heard and after a while the boy stopped struggling and lost consciousness.

Chris stared at his motionless body for minutes, then turned back, gave a death glare to the others and spoke again – this time in English.

"Anybody else wants to kill Wyatt?"

Nobody seemed to be able to form any kind of respond so he slowly made his way back to the table and sat down as if nothing happened.

Nobody, however, had the chance to notice the three women's astonished face after hearing their Whitelighter's comment.

As for Leo, well… He could not be persuaded to change his opinion of Chris, and a simple question, which might have had hundreds of possible explanations according to the context, made absolutely no difference.

"Did he just…?" Paige started but was instantly cut off by his ex-brother-in-law.

"No Paige, he did not just defend my son." he said in an annoyed, rhetorical manner.

"But…"

"No buts Paige, we've got no idea what are they talking about, therefore we do not make harsh judgments."

Paige truly felt like laughing at Leo's hypocritical attitude but made an effort to maintain an as neutral expression on her face as possible. _As if he would not do the same exact thing_.

Piper simply did not know what to think anymore. The whole situation made no sense at all. They were in the future… they _must _have been as Chris was there along with them. But where was her son? Wasn't the spell supposed to show them _his _memories? Or was he here and they simply missed it? No, that was out of question. She would definitely feel her children's presence, no matter what the circumstances were. The spell must have backfired she decided.

Then seeing Chris acting so… cold was something she wasn't used to either. Sure, the brunette man had never actually let them peek into his emotional world, but there was always something written on his face that let them know he actually has got feelings - like normal people do. Sometimes it was concern, or occasionally irritation when she and her sisters refused to take the demon hunts he planned for them. But most of the time it was… sadness.

Piper never really paid attention to analyze the young man, but now that she was thinking about it she was absolutely positive he was always walking around with a saddened expression. It was written in his eyes, yet she failed to notice it until now.

The absence of that sadness was what terrified her actually. The Chris they just saw almost killing a boy was not the Chris they got to know in the last half a year. He might be a neurotic, sarcastic and sometimes annoying person, but he would never do something like this, would he? Well, as the Chris they are facing and their Whitelighter were essentially the same person, he apparently would. But then again, it's not like they know that much about him anyway.

The eldest Charmed one did not have time to sink any deeper in her thoughts as the familiar warmth took her over once again. She disappeared from the foggy room along with her sisters and Leo, only to be rematerialized in a dark cave in the Underworld, where a teenaged version of Chris was half-kneeling in the center with his eyes closed, apparently deep in concentration.

"Why him again?" Phoebe's disappointed voice echoed in the cavern, and looking around she could tell the rest were just as much expecting her nephew to show up as she did.

"Maybe having a time-traveler around in our present confused the spell…" was Leo's respond, flavored by a great deal of annoyance. Hasn't Chris done already enough damage as it was? Did he really just have to screw up everything they tried in order to save Wyatt?

"So we are seeing Chris' memories now. Great. Just great." Piper felt lost. Not only the spell was supposed to show them someone else's life, but it just _had _to choose their so irritating Whitelighter as the subject. She was less than eager to learn more about him, as her anger towards Chris has not quite eased up yet since the incident not so long ago. _Oh well, at least Leo got what he wanted - _she made an effort to bring out her optimistic side.

The Elder seemed to be pleased with the outcome indeed. He did not feel the need to voice his delight about invading the future man's private world, as he was sure at least one of the memories will prove him right about not trusting Chris. From now on the only thing left was to wait patiently for the moment when he would finally be able to say "I was right". Because the moment _will _come for sure.

Since a burning torch was the only source of light in the cavern, the memory-invaders were unable to see the yet raven-haired boy's features clearly. However, they could make out the two sharp blades he was gripping, being pressed tightly to his elbows.

"Your mom doesn't feel comfortable with you being here alone."

The voice pierced through the demon lair and made the Charmed ones and the Elder to turn their backs on the young boy. The figure approaching Chris they instantly recognized as the hooded man from the previous memory. His familiar posture and built, and the hood he wore left no space for any doubt in that case.

"She wants you to come home, Chris. Now." he carried on calmly, while taking a few steps forward the center of the place.

"I still have got some stuff to do, but please tell her I'm gonna be there by dinnertime."

The tall man remained motionless, yet it could be easily seen that the respond did not quite satisfy him.

"Fine." he went on carrying the same mannerism in his tone as before, "Let me approach the situation from a slightly different perspective. Your mom wants you home, and I am on duty to fulfill her wish. Have I made myself clear?" his voice being full of authority made the raven-haired boy to open his eyes and Leo could tell he was measuring his options. After a long moment Chris nodded and stood up reluctantly, making the blades he was holding disappear to thin air.

"Yes, Dad."

The realization could not strike fast enough to the witches as they saw Phoebe walk up to the hooded figure. She stared at him intensively in the dim light and after a short second she let out an agonizing scream, which left her entire family being frozen.

"COLE!"

…

_Rrrrright, I know. The "let's see the future" thing has been used in many fics before, but I have a couple of things in mind I'd like to put into those memories so I just couldn't resist, sorry… :D  
And just as confirmation to a question: yes, third haha :)_

_Well, Cole. Before anyone asks the relations among the characters are mainly the same as they were in the show, so no, I didn't kick Leo out of the role as Chris's father. Well, not biologically anyways... _

_Fourth chapter is already written so there's gonna be more if you're still interested, so please review if you liked it. Or review if you didn't and tell me why. Thank you for reading!_

_! Special thanks to my beta again, charmedbaby11. I really don't know what would I do without your help :) !_


	4. Chapter 4

"WHO?"

"COLE?"

"H-how…?"

"DAD?" Paige, Piper, Phoebe and Leo voiced their disbelief in union. All of them pretty much felt like as if they had just been slapped hard in the face. _Really_ hard.

"How is that… i-is it even... possible?" Phoebe's weak sobbing filled the dark cave as she was backing from the man who was the cause of so much of her pain. He might be just a bit older, his voice may be just a bit deeper, but his cold-blue eyes… No, that gaze Phoebe would never mistake for someone else's.

"He can't be…"Paige tried hard to keep her voice even, surprisingly succeeding at the task. Only the fearful, astonished expression was signaling her shocked state. Was she imagining things now, she wondered. The man standing right in front of them was not supposed to be alive neither in their time, nor in the future. Except that he was, and he looked more than lively to say the least. If only suddenly she hasn't started hallucinating, then Cole was definitely alive.

Sure, the ex-Source of all evil have always had a bat habit of resurrecting himself in a way or another each time he got vanquished, but now that was just ridiculous. Why the hell couldn't he just spend the rest of eternity in Wasteland like normal vanquished-demons do? Why does he have to _always_ make a comeback whenever they think they finally got rid of him? Why does he always have to reopen the wounds he caused to Phoe…

That's right, Phoebe. Being deep in thoughts she almost forgot about her. Seeing her middle sister's trembling hands that covered her mouth, and the fresh tears that were quietly rolling down her cheeks, the youngest Charmed one rushed to her side and hugged her tightly, whispering soothing words into her ear.

Piper and Leo however didn't seem to be surprised at all by Cole Turner's reappearance. The current Halliwell matriarch looked way too pissed to even notice her sister who was wrapped in Paige's arms on the other side of the cavern. She clenched her fists as the all-too-familiar feeling of anger took her over for at least the hundredth time that day. She wanted to blow him up so bad. Even though she was perfectly aware of the fact that changing the memories they were seeing was impossible, she still _really_ felt like killing him on the spot. And no, she wasn't thinking about the ex-husband of her younger sister. Hell no. She was directing that rage towards the young boy once again. Or rather towards his older counterpart to be more precise. The Whitelighter, who had the guts to travel back in time decades just to mess up their lives. Telling them he was there to save her son… how dare he!

Several images filled Piper's mind as she was thinking of possible ways of punishing Chris for lying them about his real identity. The softest image was blowing his sorry ass back into the future he came from. Being the son of the former Source was not something that could _ever_ be forgiven in Piper's mental list of sins that could be committed against her sense of morality. One thing was for sure. He was sooo not going to get away with this…

"You cannot go on like this, Chris." Cole reached the boy in the meantime and put a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from orbing.

"I thought you said Mom wants me home." Chris replied in a monotone voice, but made no effort to free himself from his supposed-to-be father's light hold.

Leo watched with a great interest as Cole raised his head in a disapproving manner, making a scar on his face slightly visible in the dim light. It was a cut probably caused by some kind of sharp object as far as the Elder could tell. It was partially healed yet there was a reddish stripe starting at his jaw fading somewhere next to his right eye. It was probably the reason why he wore that hood, he thought.

The Charmed ones ex-Whitelighter did not feel anger or hatred towards the future boy like Piper did. He felt satisfaction… utter and complete satisfaction. By identifying Chris as a demon's son he had been finally proved to be right. The young man having demon blood in him actually explained a lot of things Leo was in doubt about. Sharing the blood of the ex-Source of all _Evil_ explained the amount of power he had possessed. Although the only demonstration he gave about his powers was blowing the crystals up earlier, the Elder felt there were more of them that Chris did not show. _Yet_.

Then there was his intention of erasing his son - a Halliwell witch, from history. It only made sense that evil beings wanted to get rid of as much witches as possible, and if what he said was true – the part about his younger child to be the reincarnation of Camelot –, they would receive great benefits by killing such a powerful good being. About the other things Chris said under the influence of the truth spell, Leo was sure were all lies. His dear Wyatt being the next Source… it was a ridiculous assumption. He would never ever allow his son to turn out a murderer. Not to mention his second born. The accusations of him standing on the darker side were clearly only words without any truth behind them. Chris must have found a way to trick the spell they casted on him, he had to find a backdoor that helped him to avoid telling the truth.

Leo silently cursed himself for believing in the future man's words even for a second. He had been feeding them his lies ever since he showed up in the manor at that dreadful day. The apparently half-breed made them believe Paige owned her life to him, and started to mess with their lives on a daily basis. He manipulated them into believing in a false image of the future only to achieve his own goals. That Leo despised him for.

"You should know better than acting this reckless, son. What would your mom and your cousins do if you got yourself hurt?" Cole would start to lecture the boy about his own safety, but as usual he only responded in a careless, almost lifeless tone.

"Mom would heal me."

So at least his Whitelighter powers weren't stolen, Leo thought, feeling a bit reassured at the thought of Chris's mother being a Whitelighter. That must mean the man did not kill for getting the ability of orbing. The same would go for healing, but Leo suddenly remembered it was something the brunette was unable to use. But oh well, being only a half-Whitelighter quiet covered that part as well.

"Don't be all smart on me Chris. You know exactly what I meant. Your mother and I would not be able to take care of your cousins without you."

Chris seemed to feel guilty after hearing the honest statement made by his father, and instantly started to apologize for his behavior.

"I know... I'm sorry. It's just that…" his soft voice sounded so broken that it made Paige shot his head up and Phoebe was pulled out of her weeping as well.

"You don't need to explain yourself Chris. I know exactly what did they mean to you. Accepting their death is probably the hardest thing you have ever gone through. Now I also know you understand the seriousness of the whole situation so I'm not going to give you another lecture about the importance of your role. But you have to understand that the role you play in this situation is not more important than you yourself. It is _never_ more important than you, Chris." Cole carried on in a much softer, soothing manner, "Don't forget that you still have a family that cares about you."

Piper listened to the conversation quietly while trying to figure out what the most-important-ex-of-Phoebe really meant. She made out the part that the younger version of Chris was probably out for demon hunts more than Cole would like him to have, therefore he put himself in unnecessary danger. _Right, that is just so much like him._

But what about that damn important role he was supposed to play? Was it only about his help in taking care of those mentioned cousins? No, there has to be much more in it, she decided.  
And who were those people that meant so much for the boy? They must have been close to him, so maybe family members? His parents were apparently alive, but what about siblings? Yeah, he just might have lost his siblings and went crazy about hunting demons as if trying to take revenge. Maybe that was the reason the man currently staying in their time was so determined to make her and her sisters to go on those demon vanquishes that often. That must have been it.

Yet there were so many question left unanswered in her mind. Having a demon as a father and a Whitelighter as a mother… She knew Cole well enough to know he would probably raise a child to follow the dark path he once choose, but would her mother really allow him to join the side of evil? After all she was supposed to be a creature of pure good. She may have at least persuaded Cole to let their son choose his own path, as the Chris she knew would never let such an important thing to be forced on him. But well, the Chris she knew would never try to choke a mere teenager to death either…

Just then Piper was forced to leave her guessing unfinished once again, as she noticed his middle sister slowly approaching the pair still standing in the cave in silence. As Phoebe regained her composure she left her sister's protecting embrace and took a few careful steps in the direction of the man she once loved with all of her heart. Cole was still resting his palm on the shoulder of the younger man, or rather boy, as he didn't look more than 14 to her. As she was finally calming down she noticed not only her former husband's half-covered scar, but also the bad shape the younger boy was in. Chris seemed to be a bit thin for his height, yet some developing muscles were showing under his light grey T-shirt. As she watched more closely she saw dirt all over his clothes, mixed with a fair amount of demon goo and… _blood_?

His breathing was quite even yet everything about him screamed that he had quite a fight not so long ago. The clothes he wore were slightly torn here and there, and Phoebe noticed a deep looking cut on his left shoulder. _So the blood is his own._

Yes, the blood staining his clothes indeed belonged to Chris. The Charmed one couldn't help but shriek inside at the thought of their Whitelighter sharing that same blood of his with Cole. It was not just unnerving, but also frightening to even imagine the offspring of his "beloved" ex-lover to be so close to her for months. He had looked at her, talked to her, hell, even _touched_ her to help her up when she fell because of a demon. She felt… disgusted. Disgusted with Cole for choosing power over her, disgusted with Chris for lying about his father, for hiding such a thing from her. Yet she felt even more disgusted with him for being born from _another_ woman.

Not that she wanted him to be her son, no way. That little brat was the fruit of the love of Cole towards someone else. Or wait… was he…?

"Your family needs you, Chris. We both lost so much in this war already… we cannot lose you as well." Cole released his hold on the boy, "You lost your mother and your aunt…"

_Oh God, no._

"…and I lost…"

_No… Please no!_

"…Phoebe."

The owner of the name Cole spelled out painfully couldn't bear the situation anymore. Despair finally overwhelmed her mind. She wanted to scream, cry, hell even punch someone in the face. If only somebody would tell her what was going on…

Chris was his son. She heard him call Cole Dad. But her mother… Cole said that he lost her, that he lost Phoebe. Were they together again in the future? And does that make her Chris's… no, his Mom was alive, she sent Cole to fetch him. She was a Whitelighter. But then again, she could recall the ex-Source saying something about his mother's loss. _No, this is so not real. It cannot be real. This is just a… a… a nightmare. That's right, just a nightmare. After all this cannot be happening for real... right?_

Seeing their sister silently fall to the ground Piper and Paige run up to her, trying to steady her shaking body. Leo saw on her face what Phoebe was thinking, and decided it would be the best to clarify some things about the freshly received information immediately. He walked up to the sisters and tried to speak to the middle one, his voice suppressing her loud sobs.

"It's okay Phoebe. His mother is apparently alive." he said although he wasn't sure about it either, "Even if you were together at some point, Chris cannot be your…"

"WHAT?" Piper snapped at the Elder, her eyes shining with unhidden fury at what he said. She was still hugging her beloved sister, whose violent shaking seemed to only worsen at the words she heard, "What the hell makes you think Chris would be her…" The load cry Phoebe made confirmed that Leo was indeed right about her worries, so Piper retreated with her harsh comments pointed to him.

While caressing the empath's back, Paige seemed to be completely ignorant to the scene they were witnessing. She wasn't quite surprised at what had been said after all. The redhead knew just how much her sister loved Cole, and much to her dislike neither could she deny the strength of the feelings he had for Phoebe. Deep inside she always knew that if Cole Turner returned into their lives, he would be able to steal her sister's heart again – for the millionths time.

Phoebe has always been vulnerable when it came to love, and Cole apparently represented the _One_ in her life. He was her soul mate. Or at least she thought so until he accepted his so-called destiny as the Source of all Evil, and made an attempt to make Phoebe her Queen in the Underworld. _The worst move made in history ever._

"…Aunt Phoebe wouldn't want that."

Hearing Chris pulled the Charmed ones' and Leo's attention back to the memory, and the half-sentence they heard made them realize they must have missed a lot from the conversation between the apparently-father and son.

"Aunt Phoebe? Are you now _Aunt_ Phoebe?" Paige asked her sister incredulously in a slightly unsteady voice, her eyes not leaving the dark-haired teenager for a single moment.

"Wait," Piper cut in before Phoebe could answer, "if you are his Aunt, then Paige must be…"

"WHAT? Why me?"

"Well, considering her mom can heal…"

"I cannot heal!" Paige tried to defend herself, with no luck of course.

"Healing is a Whitelighter power Paige, "Leo joined in with his reasoning instantly, "and since your father was one you might get that power later on." The Elder didn't want to upset Paige, but at that moment he sure was glad his ex-wife didn't have any Whitelighter blood in her. If there was one person in the world he wouldn't want to have in his family then it most definitely would be Chris…

Phoebe tilted her head left a bit and her eyes suddenly looked like as if they were about to pop out. Her blank expression was replaced by one full of horror and… wrath?

"You…" she addressed the redhead in a warning tone, "you and Cole…"

"H-HELL NO! See, that's what I'm talking about people! It's _Cole_ for God's sake! THERE-IS-NO-WAY!" Paige shot back with such determination that it immediately cleared all the suspicions the rest had about her secretly having feelings for the demon.

"But if you think about it for a moment it would quite much make sense…"the Elder made yet another attempt to persuade the girls about the propriety of his theory.

"But… Come Leo, we're still talking about _Cole_… Cole and me would be just… eww!"

The older women both made a disgusted face and nodded in agreement. However all Leo could think about was that if the cause of Paige's heavy protest was being disgusted with having Cole as her possible lover, or Chris as her possible son. He was almost positive it was the second and she was just being polite towards the future man. After all who would want a double-tongued liar running around as their _child_?

"…but it's not him Dad. That's not Wyatt." The last word said by young Chris drew the "audience's" attention once again, and Leo scolded himself inwardly for letting himself being distracted from their conversation. Now he just lost precious information about his son.

"True or not, sadly we can do nothing about it. And I don't want to have you close to him, Chris. Do not even think about trying anything foolish, do you understand?" Phoebe knew that tone. She knew Cole tried to sound as menacing as possible, but on the inside he was terrified by the thought something could happen to the boy.

The parents of the mentioned Twice-Blessed however couldn't care less about the relationship those two shared. They were busy guessing just why on Earth Cole wouldn't want Chris being near their golden son. _He_ was the one having demon blood running through his veins, so shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't it be _them_ who forbid Wyatt to have any kind of contact with a half-demon?

"Yes, Dad."

Cole looked satisfied with the honest sounding of the mixed-breed's answer and decided to execute his original plan – to take his son home sound and safe.

"Good. Now let's go before we piss off Paige." He grabbed the arm of the boy and shimmered the both of them away.

…

_Soooooo… Yeah, update. But since the next chapter is nowhere near done this is it for a while. I'm in college and I have some important tests in the next 2-3 weeks so I really don't know when I will be able to post again. Hopefully soon._

_About the story: Chris _is_ the son of Piper and Leo, and Cole is not and will never be married to Piper. His love strictly belongs to Phoebe :P  
Now I know the plot is quite confusing right now, but everything is going to be explained soon in the memories. Sorry about the mess with the relationships :D_

_Many thanks to charmedbaby11, my beta :)_

_And of course thank YOU so much for all the reviews, I really didn't expect to receive so many :) Thanks!_


	5. Chapter 5

Darkness took over the sisters and the Elder as they were transferred into yet another memory, leaving them no time to process the last words Cole said. As they tried to intake their new surroundings they realized the room around them felt very familiar. There wasn't much in it: a desk packed with apparently unorganized stacks of papers, a piece of furniture here and there, a couch that had obviously seen better days and an unmade bed next to the door. The walls were gray, but the paint seemed to reveal the concrete under it in spots.

Even though the presence of a bed would indicate that the room was most likely being used as a bedroom, neither of the spectators could imagine someone _**actually**_ living there. It was way too small, way too messy, and way too… well, dark.

Just then Leo realized the familiarity coming from the place was because of the lack of windows, just like in the first memory.

"Are we going to see Chris again?" Paige mainly pointed the question to Leo, obviously expecting him to have a positive answer. The look on her face quite much surprised the Elder, since just a few moments ago Cole practically declared the future man to be her son. Well, okay, he may not have sad it directly, but he came for Chris to bring him to his _**Mom**_, and since their destination before shimmering out of the cave led them to _**Paige**_… it must have meant she was his mother.

_Oh well, she just may not have made the connection yet._ But it didn't change the fact that the half-Whitelighter was her… family. If only she knew how sorry Leo felt for her.

"Paige honey, are you feeling all right?" Piper's concerned voice made the redhead to drop the slight smirk that was starting to take over her features. Looking around she noticed the glances she received from the others. They apparently thought she was either crazy or too dumb to add two plus two together.

Paige Matthews Halliwell however was more than aware of what the last voiced sentence was in the previous memory. Young Chris and Cole were heading to Chris's mother, aka _**her**_. Or at least to the future version of her. The surprising thing was that despite the expectations it didn't disturb her at all.

No, she didn't feel annoyance or disgust towards the young man like the others did, or at least like she suspected they did. She liked him actually. His sarcastic remarks always matched hers, and she admired the determination he had when it came to his mission – as he called it. It was just that she couldn't picture herself as his mother. The redhead wasn't sure if she should call it motherly instinct, or should she "blame" her sensing powers as a Whitelighter, but Paige was absolutely sure she would feel her child's presence. She was sure she could _**love**_ Chris as a mother, but actually being one means to give birth to someone. No, Chris was not her, at least not biologically. Sure she felt that there was some kind of connection they shared, but not that type.

Approaching footsteps broke the silence and soon enough the door of the room opened, revealing someone who neither the Charmed ones, nor Leo had ever seen before. The young man entering the room was a Whitelighter, a demon and Halliwell witch; a nephew and a son at the same time. The young man was Christopher Perry Halliwell.

"Paige…" Piper tried to wake up her sister from her somewhat paralyzed state as she was staring at her… son without as much as even a blink. The youngest Charmed one however didn't trouble herself to pay attention to anyone but Chris. Her observing gaze never left him for a single moment while he threw his jacket to the bed and took the chair behind the messy desk. She didn't give a damn about how pathetically concerned Piper and Leo were looking at her, or how Phoebe narrowed her eyes in anger and took a few steps further from her just to increase the distance between them. In fact she couldn't care less about the world around her at that moment. All that mattered was him.

Chris looked to be the same age as he was when arriving to their time through the portal. Yet he was completely different. Paige tried to figure out just what was so unusual about him, what was that didn't quite feel right. She studied carefully every little detail her sight allowed her, his face, his expression, clothing, body shape, movements… And that was it, his movements. Or rather his stillness to be precise. The half – or well, part Whitelighter she came to know in the last few months was rather restless. He was always up to something: investigating in the Underworld, going undercover or simply nagging them to go on those never-ending vanquishes. Never did she see him just to hang around without doing anything particularly. Not once. It felt strange to see him being so passive, looking at some kind of printed records – or at least what looked like records to her.

As usual the scene before their eyes started to develop before any of them could think any further. A brunette woman with tanned skin opened the door slowly, and after peeking in slightly she got approval for entering in a silent nod from Chris. She got closer to the light coming from the desk lamp and Piper gasped when she recognized the woman as Bianca. Not that they could forget their encounter with the fiancé of their Whitelighter, just as her being an assassin witch was not something forgettable either.

"Henry's back." Bianca stated in a heavy tone.

"Good. Tell him I want to see him." Chris sounded so official that Bianca stiffened slightly at the emotionless tone she was greeted with. She didn't let it show for too long though.

"We need to talk first."

"Fine. Let's talk." Chris said not glancing up from his papers with a completely uncaring attitude.

The Phoenix witch seemed to think about her approach for a moment but apparently decided to go on in the same business manner her fiancé started.

"We need a plan if you go back."

She seemed to hit a touchy spot on Chris's nerves as he took a loud, deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. The pained look on his face screamed that he was anything but keen on talking about the topic she wanted to discuss.

"We have to get over it sooner or later, Chris. You cannot just jump to the past without knowing exactly what you are going to do."

"I know what I am going to do."

Bianca raised an eyebrow after picking up the confidence behind Chris's comment. She gave him a skeptical glare which made the brunette man to go on.

"I go back, change the events that turned Wy and come back." Bianca couldn't suppress a grin at her fiancé's stubborn, slightly childish attitude, as such behavior was rather typical for his cousins. It's been a while since she saw him acting like the other members of his family.

"Rrright. Feel free to forget about such tiny details like you don't have a clue what could have turned Wyatt." Leo frowned at the last part and mumbled something about his son not being evil, and Piper let out an exhausted sigh. Bianca's sarcastic reply however didn't seem to bother the future man at all, so she carried on in a much more serious tone, "We need to work on the details, Chris. Do you even know what will you tell them when you arrive? They cannot know who you are."

"Why can't we?" Paige asked from particularly no one, looking quite offended by the fact that the Phoenix apparently caused most of the headaches they had because of the future Whitelighter's identity. Leo, being under the impression she was still in the dark about her relation to Chris, decided to provide her the information she needed. Dropping such an enormous bombshell could wait a little bit longer, couldn't it?

"Time travel has got strict rules, Paige. You cannot give out too much information that would change the future."

"Oh, I see," Paige said with a fake recognition in her voice, but suddenly changed into fury-mode, "and just where exactly did you put this theory when you beat Chris up for not telling us who he is?"

Bull's-eye, Leo had to admit. He was reasonable about the amount of information their new Whitelighter could share with them at first, but how could _**anyone**_ expect him to simply not care about the future of his own son?

"That was different…"

"I bet it was." Paige shot her deadliest glare at the Elder while he received a reassuring squeeze on his hand by Piper. _Oh well, maybe Paige isn't so clueless after all._

"I won't tell them who I am." Chris went on rhetorically, "I'm gonna take the role of their Whitelighter."

Bianca didn't seem to be curious how the young man planned to achieve that, but even if she was she didn't question. The witch, deciding it was enough of the business-like discussion, slowly leaned over the table and waited until her fiancé paid all of his attention to her. Looking deeply into his green eyes she waited a few moments before speaking, and when she began she tried to sound as determined as possible.

"Now I fetch Henry so you could talk to him. After you're done you take a long nap and then…" Chris would just start to protest but the woman silenced him by pushing her thumb to his lips, "and _**then**_ we will talk about your little history-changing trip."

The finally softened gaze of Chris caught Phoebe's attention. She might have been furious with her younger sister, but the kiss Bianca placed on the Whitelighter's lips made her temporarily forget about her anger and let out a sigh at the scene she was witnessing. Phoebe Halliwell has always been a sucker for love stories after all.

The relationship between Paige and Cole was still bugging her, but she already had a couple of theories about what could happen in that alternative future they were seeing. She somehow got over the fact that Cole would become a part of her life once more, but losing him again was something she didn't feel comfortable with. And the fact that "losing him" actually meant her death didn't quite help either. Nor did it help that her sister and her ex-husband had a child. Well, maybe they got together after she died, but still… That was just gross.

The empath had to acknowledge that even though she could blame her sister for stealing Cole's heart, she had no right to blame Chris for… well, for being born. A kid couldn't choose his parents after all. Whatever the Whitelighter did after he arrived to the past was actually to save his cousin. Okay, the lies he fed them were more than annoying but still she knew she shouldn't be angry with him. Only that she was.

And so she was with Paige. Or maybe… no, anger was not the right word to describe her feelings at that moment. Hatred. Now that was more like it.

Just what the hell was Paige thinking? Did she have no respect for her feelings at all? The empath knew her sister was perfectly aware of the strong emotions that once held her and Cole's relationship together, so just what on Earth made the redhead ignore the fact that the man belonged to _**Phoebe**_ and Phoebe _**only**_? No, she could have no possible excuse for giving birth to his child. Not for that.

Paige was still staring at the couple intently as Chris seemed to be lost in the gentle kiss. The tension that was constantly present in his body slowly started to leave his shoulders and his relaxed expression was something she never had the chance to see before either. The only thing they knew about the Phoenix was that she succeeded in drawing Chris's powers, but it looked like she had the ability to also drain his stress. The youngest Charmed one felt a bit relieved at the thought that there was at least someone whom he didn't shut completely off of his emotional world.

All of a sudden the door flew open before the couple had time to break the kiss and the next thing the sisters saw was the intruder's disgusted grimace before he tried to cover his eyes with his long slaved shirt.

"Hailey told me to… eww, Jesus! Could you guys please not to do this in public? I actually wanted to have _**dinner**_ ya know."

Bianca rolled her eyes and turned towards the boy who took a few steps in their direction, half of his face still hidden behind his arm. All of the onlookers expected Chris to tense up again at the presence of someone other than Bianca, but much for their surprise he didn't even bother to put the stony expression back on his face. He just leaned back in the wooden chair and folded his arms with a not nearly amused look.

"Since this is _**actually**_ my room, next time you might want to consider knocking before you _**actually**_ enter."

"Whatever." came the indifferent respond from the boy when he finally let his face to be shown in the desk lamp's light. His spiky, light-brown hair carried an orange tone and a few freckles stood in contrast with his pale skin. Looking into his chocolate eyes made something twitch within Paige, but she just couldn't place the feeling she had…

"I will talk to you later." With that Bianca left the room and closed the door that the teenager left open.

"Okay," the boy jumped onto the couch and started to search for a comfortable position, "let's get over with the scolding part for poor and vulnerable me getting into trouble without your permission and me promising to never do it again. I'm dying of hunger."

Leo eyed the newcomer suspiciously and he noticed that the sisters were doing the same. He wasn't sure if they had similar reasons for doing so but his ex-wife instantly cleared all his doubts.

"He looks so familiar…"

Chris waited until the boy made himself comfortable and started in a menacing manner, "This is not a game Henry. You could have died."

Nobody was sure if it was the realization or the look of concern on Chris's face that made the boy shrug but it certainly had its effect. The playful, cocky behavior he showed just moments ago was gone, and was replaced by a serious, thoughtful one.

"I… I know." He said simply and let his gaze wander around the floor ashamedly.

"Do I always need to remind you that we are in no position to run around freely as we please?" Chris went on but Henry seemed to lose the courage to look him in the eye, "We are in war, therefore I'd appreciate if you stopped acting like a kid."

"I-I'm sorry, I just wanted to help…" Once again the Elder was the first to associate the broken sounding of Henry with Chris from the previous memory. But it wasn't the only thing that disturbed him.

"I know you want to help, but you have to understand the seriousness of the situation." everybody noticed how the young man echoed the words he heard from Cole – probably years ago.

"And I understand but…" Paige was sure that the teenager had a very long explanation to whatever he had done, but she also knew Chris just wasn't in the mood to listen to it. She was also bothered by the familiarity in his behavior with young Chris but to be frank his looks bugged her even more. The mysterious boy almost looked as if he was a…

"You're a Halliwell, Henry. Act like it."

Silence.

Paige's face lit up but before she could say something she already knew the memory was over. The feeling of dematerialization was followed by a slight dizziness, and she had to close her eyes because of the light that surrounded her. Moments later she realized the intense light came from a window that was located in the… manor. The kitchen looked more or less the same as in their time, and the infiltrating sunrays signaled that it was morning.

"See, that's what I'm talking about! Why can't you take him with you?" Paige heard her own voice coming from the stairs, escorted by loud footsteps that indicated her future counterpart wasn't alone. She barely had time to catch her breath when Piper's future self entered the kitchen with a baby carrier in her hands, followed by, well, her. And a furious version of her at that.

Piper took a few steps to get closer to Leo, and he immediately put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. Even though the Piper and Paige in the memory couldn't be older than them more than 1-2 years, it was still awkward to see themselves from an outsider's perspective.

"He's only one year old Paige, he wouldn't remember any of it anyway. Now will you look after him or do I have to take him to Dad again?"

Paige seemed to hesitate before answering, but finally she started to speak discursively.

"O-of course I will, but what I said…"

"What you said was completely gratuitous and illogical Paige." Piper snapped at her sister, "I would _**never**_ neglect any of my children, nor would Leo. We love him just as much as we love Wyatt," she said while placing the carrier on the table, "but he is just a baby yet. Right now Wyatt needs more of our attention than Chris do. You do understand Mommy, right Peanut?" the last part she asked from the baby who clapped happily in respond, obviously not understanding what was happening around him. "Now be a good boy until Mommy returns and play with Aunty Paige, all right?" The baby giggled happily and stretched his short arms to grab Piper's hair, but she simply shoved his little hands off of her and left the kitchen excitedly.

"Have fun you two!" she shouted before she left the house and slammed the front door behind her.

The scene seemed to be frozen as memory Paige did not move an inch for long minutes. She just stood there, staring at the place where her sister had been standing just a while ago. The only evidence for that the memory didn't actually stop playing was the baby's quite sobbing as he desperately tried to sit up in the seat and see where his Mommy had gone. The sobbing voices slowly grew into crying, yet Paige remained rooted to the spot. However, nor Leo neither the Charmed sisters paid enough attention to notice the terrified expression that occupied her face.

Leo saw Piper falling to her knees but didn't have the strength to help her. He too needed the support of someone in order to stay on his feet. Unfortunately Phoebe was occupied with trying to pull her older sister back to reality, and Paige didn't seem to recover from the shock anytime soon. Neither of the Paiges did actually.

He barely heard Piper bursting out in an agonizing scream, and seconds later saw from the corner of his eyes as she buried her face in Phoebe's arms, crying heavily.

The Elder was leaning over the table, looking at a little, raven-haired boy with a freckle on his tiny nose. He had no clue how he had gotten there, or how were his trembling legs able to hold his weight. The boy's crying eased and he looked Leo right in the eye with interest. He wasn't just staring off to the space, he was staring at _**him**_. Leo held out his hand out of curiosity and was left dumbstruck by the result of his little experiment. The boy focused his emerald eyes on his hand and reached out to grab his finger. The simple fact that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get a hold of it seemed to amuse the baby and he started to giggle again.

"Chris…" Leo whispered and the boy immediately started his incomprehensive baby-talk, as if trying to form some kind of reply, showing that he understood his name was said.

"Paige, have you seen Phoebe? I've been searching for her… for about… P-Paige?" The all-too-familiar voice of Cole Turner caught Phoebe's attention, but she made an effort to keep herself together. Her sister needed her now, she could care about such questions as what-the-freaking-hell-was-he-doing-there later.

Piper wasn't even remotely aware of the events around her as she continued crying loudly, not listening to the soothing words her sister provided, just like Paige did to Phoebe not so long ago. She didn't register as Cole made his way to memory Paige and waved his hand in front of her to break the hypnosis she seemed to be put under. She could have come round with Chris being her nephew, but her son? There was only so much one could bear.

"Paige? Do you hear me?" Cole managed to sit the redhead down but henceforward she remained silent.

The Elder was still staring at the smiling child, not fully knowing what he should do. Chris was his… no. No, that was not possible. His father was Cole.  
He knew he _**should**_ deny even the possibility of this boy being his, but how could he? Just looking at the tiny creature would be proof enough for anyone. Piper's cheeks, her nose, her thick, dark hair, Prue's freckle, and _**his**_ eyes. And that was only the baby. His future self practically screamed that he was a Halliwell, that he was _**his**_ son.  
Christopher. His father's name. God, just how could he miss it? He was so preoccupied with trying to prove that the Whitelighter was evil that he simply overlooked the most obvious thing he was supposed to see. But what now? Should he just admit defeat and accept that he was related to the man he came to hate in the last few months? Should he apologize for his behavior and try to make their relationship right? No, he still couldn't picture Chris as his son. He was anything but family. His constant lies, his shady personality… accepting him was no option. That would just bring way more guilt than he could possibly take.

"PAIGE!" Cole's harsh voice finally achieved its goal and made Paige to snap out of her daydream, just as it worked with the rest of the bystanders. Piper looked at them with red eyes, her tears still falling freely and not letting go of her sister. Phoebe, Paige and Leo were looking at the same direction, the Elder momentarily forgetting about the giggling baby.

Memory Paige slowly opened her mouth, but it took her seconds to push the word out of her shaking body.

"N-nothing…" she started but the unsteadiness of her voice didn't allow her to continue, so she decided to whisper her thoughts to the man kneeling in front of her. Baby Chris chose this moment to announce his boredom with a loud cry which made the youngest Charmed one to point her gaze at the table, then painfully close her eyes as the tears started to make their way down her face. She forced her eyes open once more and looked at Cole as she sobbed.

"Nothing has changed."

…

_Hey there! My exams have been delayed a bit, so pray for me next week, thanks… :P If I pass I'm gonna update within the next 2 weeks, if I fail my mom's gonna give you the exact date and place of my funeral.=D_

_Million thanks for my beta charmedbaby11- again :)_

_And thank you for all the reviews, I am sooo happy you still follow the story :) As I mentioned, I know it's confusing and all, but I plan to clear the fog slowly, memory by memory…Hope you're persistent enough to keep up with me that long._

_Also, I already have a basic idea of what I want to put into the following memories, but I'm always open to suggestions (already received some), and I might use them if they fit into the storyline. So please review, whether you liked it or not =) Thank you!_


	6. Chapter 6

Despite the thick walls, the ringing of the school bell could be heard even in the courtyard and seconds later scores of laughing children ran out from the main entrance. The younger ones were awaited by their parents, while the older ones were playfully chasing each other or simply cracking jokes about their teachers, enjoying the freedom that greeted them outside the school building.

The dark haired boy followed the crew that was still flowing out on the door and waited until everyone left the stairs so he could sit down without being hit. His green t-shirt was crinkled and he had a purple bruise on the left side of his face. As the minutes slowly passed by the children started to wane and soon the boy found himself sitting in front of the school almost completely alone.

Almost.

The three women and the man around him stayed invisible to his eyes, his sight not being able to pick up their sobbing, trembling figures.

For Piper, the time seemed to be frozen, literally. Mere moments ago she was just an annoyed aunt with a magical nephew whose future self happened to frustrate the hell out of her. Sure, her anger towards the boy eased a bit after learning he was somehow related to her family, but simply being a Halliwell didn't cover for everything he had done since he had showed up in their lives. She could have held that resentment towards him until he was just her nephew, but her son? No, Piper knew she couldn't do that. A mother simply had no right to hold anything against her children, after all their actions would be the results of her parenting, wouldn't it?

Mother…damn. She could have forgiven Paige for falling in love with Cole, she could have overlooked that if Chris had demonic blood flowing through his veins, and she probably could have even forgiven her nephew for ruining her marriage. But now just how the hell was she supposed to forgive _**herself**_?

Hot tears washed her face as she was kneeling in front of the boy. How old could he be? Eight or nine perhaps? Was he taller than his classmates or was he short for his age? There was no way the Halliwell matriarch could have known that. Yet she felt – no, she knew she was supposed to know it. She was supposed to see he was her son, she was supposed to see _**him**_. It was so obvious. Christopher Perry, their future Whitelighter, who entered a portal to the past to save Wyatt. Who would do such a risky thing other than family?

Christopher Perry, the future Whitelighter with Wiccan powers. Who would go against the Elders' order and fight for starting a family other than her and Leo?

Christopher Perry, who possessed almost the same personality as her late sister did, who used the same sarcastic remarks as Paige, and whose stubbornness went far beyond any Halliwell's she knew.

Christopher Perry Halliwell.

There was no denial in her anymore. The boy's delicate features were a mixture of hers and Leo's, and…Prue's. His looks should have sold him the moment he showed up and she questioned his intentions. Oh God, she questioned her own son's goodness. And the worst part of it is that it wasn't even the cruelest thing she'd done to him. She accused him of being evil, accused him of wanting to hurt his own brother. She put him under a spell, even pressed Paige to trap him in that damned crystal cage. She kicked him out and banned him from the house he probably spent his life in, and told him she never wanted to see him again. She told him to stay away from his _**family**_.

She was ought to know but she missed it, and there was nothing that could be done to erase that single, yet fatal mistake. Piper Halliwell has officially failed as a mother.

"Chris!" the sisters and Leo torn their gaze away from the sitting child and turned to face a slightly older Piper who just got out of her car. As she hurriedly crossed the small park in front of the building the boy slowly stood up and walked past trough his yet-to-be-mother's incorporeal body, which made the both of them sigh heavily at the contact. The Elder was sure Chris had no chance to see or feel them, yet he saw the hesitation in his jade eyes before he finally made his way towards the park.

"Hi, Mum." Leo watched with fascination as Chris replaced his saddened expression with a delighted one as soon as he reached his mother. It was clear that he didn't want to depress her with his not-so-bright mood, yet the Elder suddenly felt sick to his stomach because of the sudden change. Nobody was supposed to hide their feelings so deeply, not to mention that a child at his age shouldn't have even heard about the concept of pretending to be happy. Why would Chris feel the constant need to lie, even to his…family?

"Hi, sweetie. Sorry I'm late, I had to check the club before…" memory Piper exhaled while trying to catch her breath, but after taking in her son's appearance she changed the topic immediately. "What's that bruise on your face again and where is your brother?"

The kid froze for a short moment at the sudden change of her attitude, but quickly colleting himself he replied. "Dad picked him up after his last lesson."

Leo couldn't get rid of the image of a thunder forming in his mind. _**Dad**_. Nobody had ever referred to him that way. Well, if Wyatt's weak tries of addressing him in his own baby-language didn't count, nobody called him Dad until now.

"Picked him up?" memory Piper shot a suspicious glare at him, "Don't tell me you got into yet another fight, mister." She suddenly looked menacing even to the memory-invaders.

The boy shrugged and looked down at his shoes apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"Oh Chris, just how many times do I have to repeat myself? No. Fighting." Piper scolded him angrily. "When will you finally learn your lesson?"

Chris shifted uncomfortably under her gaze but made no effort to defend himself.

"That's it, mister. This is the last time I let such a thing happen. You are grounded for a whole month, which means no TV, no skateboarding and…" she paused to check if anybody was within hearing range, "and definitely no magic!"

"But Mom…" Chris quickly shot his head up at the last part. He was clearly anything but amused by the thought of not being able to use his powers or read the Book for weeks.

"Forget it, mister. You brought it upon yourself. Now let's get going before Paige explodes my kitchen," she replied coldly and turned her back to her son, heading for the car.

"Oh my God, don't tell me you – I mean _**she**_ let Paige cook!" Phoebe turned to Piper with a constrained smile on her face.

Paige stared at her middle sister with widened eyes, not quite getting the sudden change of her behavior. Just a few minutes ago the woman in question was ready to choke her in a bottle of water because of her made-up relationship with Cole, and now she was trying to make fun of her cooking skills?

The answer to her question came quick this time. Looking around the redhead realized what Phoebe was trying to do – pulling Piper and Leo out of their self-pity. Not much success at that. Neither of them had time to react anyway as they had to follow Piper's future counterpart if they didn't want to miss the memory.

It was hard enough for both the sisters and Leo to keep up with her pace, and Chris almost had to run in order to stay close to her.

"Mom…" he pleaded while trying to even his rapid breathing, but Piper didn't seem to listen at all. "Mom," he tried again with no avail. "There's something wrong with Wy," he whispered and immediately bumped into his mother as she stopped abruptly hearing the comment.

"What is wrong with him?" she asked without as much as turning around, but her ex-husband could see her horrified expression, fear evident in her eyes. She only turned to face Chris when he gave no response to her question.

"I asked what is wrong with your brother, Chris?" she spoke lowly, struggling inwardly to keep her temper in check.

Piper reached for the Elder after seeing the coldness her future self treated the kid with, and couldn't help but wonder if she acted the same way towards Wyatt as well. What could have possibly happened that made her change so drastically over the years? Right, she wasn't the most welcoming person when Chris arrived, but she didn't know he was even related to her. She just couldn't imagine herself as a mother who favored one of her children above the other. Maybe the reason why Chris was so secretive and distant with them was because they – or at least she – gave him a reason to feel somewhat neglected during his childhood?

"He got involved in the fight as well…" young Chris admitted ashamedly, his voice barely audible. Piper kneeled down in front of him and cupped his cheeks between her hands. The first sign of affection she showed towards him since they entered the memory, Paige thought bitterly. She honestly didn't understand her sister's reaction when she found out Chris was her son. After all at some point she herself thought _**she**_ was his mother, but her reaction was anything but like Piper's. Why would she collapse crying when finding out that her son was brave enough to travel through time to save his brother? Wasn't that something her sister and Leo should be proud of? Oh well, Leo's ignorance didn't surprise her that much, knowing fully how he grew to hate the young man during his stay in the past. But Piper…the youngest Charmed sister was shocked to the core when she saw her crying in Phoebe's arms, praying for what she saw to be nothing more than a mere illusion.

Okay, Chris could have surely improved his methods with which he tried to gain their trust, but his intentions were good. Didn't it mean anything to the rest of her family?

"What happened?" memory Piper asked, trying to persuade the little boy to go on.

"Kevin took my bag and I tried to ask him…" he started but Piper shook her head and cut him off.

"How did Wyatt get into it?"

"He tried to help me," the boy couldn't suppress the bitterness in his tone, "but he…"

"What is wrong with him, Chris? Did he get hurt?"

"No, but…"

"Did your Dad heal him?"

Chris let out an exhausted sigh and tried to explain the situation between his mother's interrogating questions.

"He didn't get hurt, Mom." he tried to ease his mother's concern but seeing her uncertainty he forced a smile and carried on, "he's Up There with Dad. He's safe."

Memory Piper let out the breath she was holding in relief, but soon she was eyeing her younger son with anger again.

"Then why did you say…"

"He broke Kevin's arm," Chris added hurriedly.

Both Pipers seemed to be taken aback by the simple statement, however, it turned out that for entirely different reasons.

"That's it?" memory Piper asked after snapping out of the slight shock. "First y_**ou**_ get yourself into trouble, then your brother accidentally breaks someone's arm while helping _**you, **_yet you still have the guts to say that there's something wrong with _**him**_?" she asked with so much resentment in her voice.

"But it wasn't an accident…"

"Enough!" the boy froze hearing his mother shout, while the memory-invaders were staring at the scene, stunned. Suddenly memory Piper's features softened as she realized the boy unconsciously took a step backwards. She reached to stroke the hair out of his eyes and went on in a calm tone, as if all of her fury disappeared at once.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, honey. I'm sure your Dad talked to the headmaster before he left so I rather hear out his explanation before I ground either you or Wyatt. But please don't scare Mommy like that again okay?"

"But there is…"

"There is nothing wrong with your brother, Chris. Get that fable out of your head already." She finished with a bit of her momentarily forgotten anger reappearing in her eyes. The boy shook his head resigning and Piper waved for him to get into the car before she took the driver's seat.

Even though Chris pulled a straight face and obeyed without another word, Leo noticed the sorrow he buried deep under his expression. Every move he made spoke for itself as he opened the door of the car and placed himself behind his Mom. Regret, grief, fatigue and…acceptance. The little boy gave up the fight he was not even supposed to have, not with his mother.

"What was that about?" Piper asked as she watched her future self driving off with Chris, leaving the rest of them speechless. "JUST WHO THE HELL DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?" she yelled at her sisters, as if they were the ones to blame because of her counterpart's behavior.

"Piper, please, calm down…" Phoebe made a weak attempt to avoid the burst out her sister would most likely set upon in any minute.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? Just how do you expect me to calm down after…" she trailed off sobbing, not quite sure what did she intend to say. "He's our son," she whispered, looking Leo right in the eyes. She waited for his confirmation, but it never came. "Leo?" she pushed but only received a blank look from her ex. The oldest Charmed One understood the confusion he must have been in, but she wanted him to say it was true. She couldn't live with the fact that Leo wouldn't acknowledge Chris as his child – even though after everything that happened she wouldn't be too surprised if he'd still be in denial either. Yet Piper _**needed**_ him to say it out loud. "Leo, please say something," she begged, truly believing that his words could make everything right in a blink of an eye, just like in the old times.

"He is…" the Elder didn't have the strength to finish the sentence, but it was enough for Piper and her sisters to relax a bit.

'_Thank God', _Paige thought. Just thinking about a father not accepting their child made her want to punch them in the face and scream what kind of crappy parent they were. Well, fortunately, Leo escaped his extremely painful death by Paige's hands, at least for now. But she swore inside that if the man would cause any more pain for Chris after they returned from the memory trip, she would stick to her original plan and make him wish he never had been born.

Oh, and the same applied to her beloved sister as well. There was no way she would let Piper act towards her son like she just did in the memory. Never.

Actually the scene they saw upset not only the redhead, but Piper and Phoebe too. While Leo was still trying to rationalize the information he came to know since they cast the spell, the oldest present Halliwell was busy loading as much guilt on her conscience as humanly possible. She replayed every single moment of the latest memory in her head, desperately seeking for an explanation for her future version's uncaring attitude when it came to her younger son. Why was she interested only in what happened to Wyatt? Why didn't she even bother to hear Chris out? How the heck could she act so cold towards her child? Okay, Piper might not have come to terms yet with her Whitelighter being family, but that little raven-haired boy…that was a whole different story.

After all he was just a _**child**_ for crying out loud. He probably didn't do anything wrong. Sure, having their kid getting into a fight was not appealing to any mother, but he even said that boy took his bag. Maybe he was just defending himself, and she didn't give him the chance to explain himself. _**Yet**_ she wasn't even remotely troubled by the fact that her firstborn has _**broken**_ someone's arm…would she really allow his son to become that aggressive?

And Leo…why would he pick up Wyatt but leave Chris behind? Paige from the previous memory suggested they were neglecting him, but they wouldn't do anything like that now, would they? No, her sister _**must**_ have been mistaken.

The girls and Leo were staring into the space, each deep in thoughts, when the new scene slowly evolved around them. After they were completely relocated from the park their eyes had to adjust to darkness once again.

"Oh, I already started to miss that," Paige commented in her usual sarcastic manner.

The clicking sound of a switch was followed by the suddenly blinding light that filled the dusty room.

"I'm telling you, it's _**not working!**_" The high-pitched voice belonged to a short, ebony haired girl, who entered the room right after Henry. Even though most of the onlookers had still trouble opening their eyes, Phoebe caught up rather quickly and started to study the children that followed the boy. Her gaze fell onto the two girls who stepped in last, one of them carrying a toddler in her arms. She couldn't be older than 14, still she looked to be the oldest of them all.

"Chris didn't have the _**time**_ to fix it yet," came the bitter remark from the same girl who talked first. She followed Henry to an old device that looked like some kind of DVD player – or at least the remains of one. The boy didn't pay attention to whatever she had to say and started to sweep the dust off of the broken machine.

Phoebe guessed Henry was about 10 and the visibly annoyed black haired girl had to be about the same age. Stepping a little closer she immediately realized their relation. They were sibling. Twins to be exact. Their features were completely identical, even their light freckles were more or less placed similarly on the pale skin on their noses. Only the girl's inky eyes differed from Henry's light brown ones, yet both of their looks were way too familiar to stay unnoticed.

The Empath wondered if she should tell her younger sister about her intuition, but seeing the smirk that occupied the redhead's face she realized it would be redundant to say the least. Paige already figured it out God knows how much earlier than she did.

"Leave him alone Hailey, you know how important his job is," the oldest said in a light tone, smiling at the little girl sitting on her arm. The toddler however didn't appreciate the gesture the slightest bit, she seemed to be too tired and bored to return the smile. She yawned and lazily put her tiny arms around the teenager's shoulders, starting to play with her long, wavy locks.

"All I know is his job is obviously more important than us," Hailey replied and put her arms on her hips cockily.

"Don't say that, he spends all of his free time with –" the other girl next to the oldest spoke up a bit angrily, but the ebony haired cut her off before she had the chance to defend Chris.

"With us, yeah, sure. Well, he doesn't have too much spare time lately now, does he?"

"He tries…"

"Have you noticed how he always makes excuses when it comes to spending time with us?"

"Jesus, Hailey! He has to go on…"

"You know I bet he doesn't even care about us anymore. Not that it bothers me actually, just sayin'. I don't care where does he spend his time at all, why should I? I don't care if he doesn't care, period."

"Hailey…" A hurt expression made its way to the oldest girl's face while the slightly younger one still tried to fight the urge to choke the ebony haired irritation to death.

"No, Prue, he simply disregards us. He's rarely at home and when he is he still puts his job first when somebody calls him from those 'headquarters' of his. He just doesn't have the right to be forgiven every time when he comes back and apologizes for letting Chris!" the rest barely had time to acknowledge the presence of the newcomer when Hailey was already all over him, throwing her short arms around his waist and mumbling something into his jacket.

"I missed you too, Darkie." Chris smiled lovingly as he wrapped his arms around Hailey's small figure and lifted her up so she could sit on his right arm. Despite the things she said mere moments ago she was anything but disappointed to see the young man, and the oldest girl had to chuckle at the crew. Henry wasn't interested in the old device anymore and the other girl dropped her anger as well as they both threw themselves at Chris, causing him to waver back a little bit. The toddler suddenly shot her head up at the familiar voice and stretched her arms in the direction of Chris, too.

"Looks like somebody missed you quite a bit, ain't that right Hailey?" the oldest girl said teasingly while handing the baby over to Chris, but "Darkie" only put her tongue out in response before burying her face in the man's neck again.

"How's my little angel doing today?" Chris asked from the happily snickering toddler now sitting on his other arm.

"You stay and play with us?" she asked excitedly, however her confident tone and her finger pointed to his chest suggested it was more like a demand.

Chris pulled the same remorseful look the Charmed sisters could see not so long ago but before he could utter a single word another person appeared in the door and replied instead of him.

"That's right sweetie, Chris is going to stay and play with you the entire day." The woman in question stood in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest, and shot a glare to Chris that implied the message obey-and-smile-or-face-the-wrath-of-Paige-Matthews-Halliwell.

The half-breed decided to go along with her but the smile that formed on his face suggested he wasn't going to give up so easily. He was just delaying the fighting process.

"Paige," he greeted her lightly.

"Drop that smirk mister, you are having a day off, period." Memory Paige put her hands on her hips and Phoebe had to smile at how her sister behaved like that Hailey girl. Hailey, her niece, she corrected herself. Memory Paige chuckled at the sight of her nephew being attacked by a bunch of children and had to make an effort to sound as serious as she possibly could. "You guys go to the living room and wait for Chris, I have to talk to him first."

"But Mom…" Henry and Hailey uttered in union but their begging had no effect on the youngest Charmed one.

"No buts, you do as I said or Chris won't play with you at all," she said warningly and the twins unwillingly removed themselves from their cousin, while Prue tried to pull the other girl away from him as well. Memory Paige walked up to them and took the baby from him, handing her to Prue. "Come on honey, you go with your cousin and Chris will shortly be there, okay?"

The girl smiled and the rest watched with interest as all of her previous boredom and tiredness seemed to be gone by the time her cousin carried her towards the door.

"Okay, Mom."

Phoebe was taken aback by the word "cousin" and seeing Paige still smiling mischievously silently confirmed her doubts. These children were Halliwells, they were – or going to be – theirs. The Empath suddenly remembered the promise she made after her oldest sister died. After the funeral she vowed that if she ever had a daughter, she would definitely name her after Prue. It was a promise made from sorrow and anger for losing her sister, with only an uncertain amount of determination behind it. Little did she know, back then, that she really would stick to it one day.

Phoebe looked after the small crew with longing eyes, inwardly celebrating herself that she _**really**_ would raise such a kind and caring person from her daughter. Oh wait…my God, she was _**really**_ going to become a mother…

Paige quietly chuckled at her sister's expression as she imagined Phoebe making the connections in her head. She could feel with her, after all they were walking in the same shoes now, weren't they? However, Henry being her son wasn't that much of a surprise for Paige, she already figured that out the first time she saw him. Yet since the following memories were, well…disturbing, she didn't really have the time to feel glad about having a child. Hell, she didn't even have time to fully comprehend what was happening around her. But now she did, and the redhead felt more proud and happy than ever in her life. She might consider herself to be too young to start a family yet, but she knew her attitude would change slowly by the time, like it always did. The only thing that mattered was that right then she couldn't feel more delighted about the decision her future counterpart apparently made by giving birth to three children. And three beautiful, healthy children at that: Henry, Hailey and her "little angel". Paige knew she should cry from happiness and go all sentimental about this revelation, but she simply didn't feel the need of doing so. As she watched her children fading behind the door the only word that came to her mind described everything she felt and thought at that moment of perfection. _'Awesome.'_

Just when all the five children left the room did Piper and Leo realize whom were they referring to as their Mom. They were too busy studying their own son to notice that in the future they weren't the only ones who had children, yet they still seemed to be ignorant to everything that didn't concern Chris directly. Phoebe was yet to come to a final conclusion about what she saw and Paige didn't care about their attitude that much actually, at least they finally gave their son the attention he probably missed ever since he came back from his time. _'Or maybe even longer…'_

"Now, what did I tell you about working more than 3 days in a row young man?" Memory Paige's voice was suddenly sharp and unusually threatening.

"I told Dad to tell you…"

"I haven't seen you in a week, Chris! Did you really think a few messages from Cole would be enough to make me stop from worrying about you?" she couldn't hide the concern in her voice before she pulled Chris into a bone squeezing hug. Piper expected him to pull away but instead she saw her son remaining still for a few moments and then returning the gesture. Something in the back of her head told her she should pay more attention to what was being said in the memories rather than analyze her possible mistakes as a mother, but it was Leo who voiced the concept she missed.

"Why is _**he**_ 'Dad'?" the Elder finally seemed to at least partially pull himself together and ask the million dollar question that nobody held an answer to. Paige wasn't sure if she really felt sadness in his voice, or was it just her mind playing tricks on her. Even though the second option was less likeable, it was more likely, she had to realize.

"I'm so sorry I told you those things Chris…" Memory Paige let her tears fall as she sobbed into the young man's shoulder, who was stroking her back in circles, "I didn't mean them, I really didn't, but…they need you now Chris. Your family needs you."

"It's okay…everything's going to be fine."

Paige felt odd. First she saw as her future self was being requested to babysit Chris, then she saw little Chris begging Piper to listen to him, and now her supposed-to-be "grown-up" and "mature" self was being soothed by that very same boy. That picture was just so horribly wrong.

After a short while memory Paige let go of her nephew and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

"Geez, now I'm acting like a teenager." The small comment proved to be enough to make the both of them let out a smile and get loose some of the tension in the room. "Just don't disappear like that again, okay?"

"I didn't…"

"I know, just promise me, please. Promise you will always be there for them."

Chris obviously didn't know what to think about her plea but the desperation written on her face made him willing to say whatever she wanted to hear.

"I promise."

Memory Paige nodded in response and pointed towards the door, taking her ready-to-fight stance once again.

"Good. And now mister, get your ass over there before they start to look for you," she demanded and laughed a bit when Chris bowed his head and made his way to the living room.

"Yes, ma'am." He tried to use his serious tone, with moderate success.

"Chris?" He turned back from the doorway when he heard his name.

"Yeah?"

Memory Paige looked hesitantly at him but apparently decided to take the chance and say what was on her mind.

"You can still call me 'Mom' you know," she said reluctantly.

Piper felt jealousy fogging her mind as Chris's lips slowly curled up and a grateful smile took over his features, making him look way, way younger than his teen version probably was. It was a real smile, a different one from those that she received in the previous memory. This one was so pure and honest that it made her wonder if she ever earned the privilege to even witness it.

"Yeah, Mom. I know."

…

_Hey! I'm baaaack! :D_

_So first of all, I know that last time I said I was going to update within 2 weeks, sorry for the delay. More exams came up and stuff (apparently I survived them all), but I wrote a longer chapter in compensation this time, hope that makes up for the waiting… :)_

_I know there hasn't been any evil Wyatt in the memories yet, but don't worry, he surely will make an appearance in the next chapter. :P And I know that the memories seem very random and don't make much sense yet, but I promise that everything that right now may look insignificant will play a rather important role later…_

_I hope that you can distinct the people who are part of the memories from the onlookers, if not then please tell me so I can clear the confusion._

_Aaaaand… I don't know if I mentioned this before but I like to draw in my free time, and made a quick sketch from 17 years old Chris and his cousins (crappy style yeah, but I think it still helps to visualize the characters :)_

...

_http:/ / www. freeimagehosting. net/image. php?6154586ea3. jpg _

...

_(Just delete the spaces between the slashes and behind the dots.)_

_The kids on the picture: Patricia (Trish) 13 (aka the "other girl in this chapter"), Hope 3 (aka "little angel"), Chris 17, Prue 15, Henry Jr. 11, Hailey 11. No, no Melinda. Not because I hate her, I like her character actually, she just wouldn't fit into the storyline I have in my head. Maybe next time… :D (Not sure about if I can call the cousins my OC's, since I don't remember how many of them were mentioned on the show and what their names were.)_

_Also as I was reading the reviews I got (for what I am really, like realllllly thankful for) I realized that I have read many of my reviewer's stories before, but as I didn't have an account here I just didn't get to leave a comment myself. So that's one more thing on my to-do list :)_

_Then, many-many thanks to charmed7293 for beta-ing my story, there would have been no update without her help :) *check out her stories if you haven't done so yet, she's awesome* xD_

_Okay, no more smileys, please read and tell me if you liked it or not. Thank you!_


	7. Chapter 7

A father being forced to watch his child by his ex-wife is never the most pleasant sight one could think of, especially when the parents in question happen to be Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt.

Obviously, the almighty Elder's and the all-powerful witch's marriage is ruined not only in their present, but in the past of their son as well.

First only begging, then shouting, and when nothing seems to work then finally threatening. That's how the Halliwell matriarch tried to persuade her ex to look after Chris while she was out with her oldest. Simply witnessing the fight would make anyone think that there is hardly a more depressing scene than a parent showing no interest at all when it comes to their progeny, yet despite the expectations the former couple succeeded in finding a way to make the situation even worse… by making the mentioned child to watch as his Dad is blown up into a million spots of orbs because of refusing to spend any time with _**him**_.

Age five. Living in a family, being able to walk and express your thoughts with the help of your yet to be extended vocabulary should be enough to make you happy at that age. Or if not happy, then carefree at least. Nobody's expecting you to fully comprehend what is happening around you, which is good, considered how much weight would be dropped on your shoulders just in a few years, stealing away the time you had when you were simply enjoying your childhood. Then again, nobody's expecting you to fully comprehend what is happening around you, which is bad, if you are not the average kid who lives up to that scheme and goes playing soccer instead of crying in the corner because of that weight being _**already**_ present on their shoulders. Being not expected to understand something is terribly wrong when you actually _**do**_ understand it. Still, people tend to forget that it has always been us who decided about the time when we were ready to carry the burden of knowledge without stumbling, not the other way around.

Unfortunately, Christopher Perry Halliwell had made that decision way too early…

The little boy was watching in awe as his father dissolved into bluish-white, bright participles that were circling round in the air before forming a somewhat massive figure - yet again. As the light slowly died down the orbs left a very annoyed Leo standing in the conservatory of the Halliwell manor, and sensing his mood Chris strangely wished the man would once again transform into those beautiful flying things that made the funny jiggling sound and made him a bit jumpy whenever he felt them nearby. It seemed like it didn't matter whom the orbs would reveal, as long as they were present the boy could never put his mind at peace, yet he longed to see them desperately if that meant he wouldn't have to face the person who just rematerialized before his eyes. And for Chris it was saying something, since he quite much got uneasy around everybody who used that kind of transportation. Well, almost everybody…

The Witchlighter – as his Mom always told him he was one – never understood how he could distinguish his Auntie's orbs from those of Wy's or his father's. Paige always appeared in random spots in the large house seemingly the same way, yet he could tell her orbs apart from the rest instinctively. Hers brought him a calming sensation that he never got with his brother. Well, neither did he with Leo, but that wasn't much of a surprise now, was it?

"I'm not going to ask you once more Leo. He is your son and you have obligations towards him!"

The raven-haired boy was sitting on the floor surrounded by his and Wyatt's toys, and watched his parents with a calmness that frightened the Charmed sisters and the Elder, who started to seriously regret their decision about going through Chris's memories…

"And I wouldn't want anything more than being able to stay but…"

Despite his age the little kid's poor vocabulary still contained the phrases and words to describe concepts he met during those five short years of his life, but knew that voicing the one that popped up in his mind by looking at his father would only upset his Mom even more. _'Lie.'_

"No buts this time! I've had enough of your excuses! Being an Elder doesn't mean you can ignore your child…"

"I'm not ignoring him Piper, but you have to understand that I can't come whenever I want now…"

'_Lie.'_

"You always come when Wyatt calls you Leo. Always! Whatever reason you have for ignoring Chris's calls, it is going to stop now, do you understand?" Memory Piper shouted at the Elder, her voice full of anger, arms still raised to continue her previous activity in case the reply of the man wasn't satisfying enough.

"Please Piper, we both know that I'm only doing this for the greater good…"

"Oh, I see. So is now the greater good more important than your family? Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm just saying that I have got responsibilities and I can't-"

BOOM.

Memory Piper waited patiently as her former lover's orbs made their way back together and left her prey defenseless against the Charmed powers once again, then went on with her rampage.

"I don't give a damn about your Elder duties. You're still a father first Leo Wyatt, and from now on you're going to act like one!" she yelled from the top of her lungs as soon as the last pieces of orbs disappeared and silence fell to the conservatory until the Elder gathered the courage to speak up again.

"Look Piper, I want to spend more time with you all, I really do, but they won't allow me to play a babysitter whenever you want me to..."

'_Lie,' _Chris thought just before the jiggling sound let itself to be heard again, and he didn't have to look at his parents to know that his Mom repeated the movement that blew the scary man up. Even though the boy was thankful for his mother for making the man vanish for a few more seconds, the bystanders could tell that she was only making Leo angrier with every blow he had to take and they already feared the likely outcome of this particular memory. Or well, at least Phoebe, Paige and even Leo did…

"_Yeah, Mom. I know."_ Oblivious to her surroundings, Piper's mind was still stuck at what she'd just heard a few minutes ago. Being under the effect of the words of her son – _**HER**_ son – she couldn't find the strength to pay attention to the memory that was currently playing. _"Yeah, Mom…" _She couldn't get rid of the image as the young man addressed her sister with a title that rightfully belonged to _**her**_. Or did it? It _**had**_ to, Chris was her son after all. _"Mom…" _She vaguely caught some keywords from the not-so-peaceful conversation her future counterpart had with future Leo, but she didn't completely get what was going on. _"…Mom. I know." _Was it something about Leo being an Elder? Yeah, it probably was. It wouldn't be the first time for the Elders to be the reason of their quarrels. _"Yeah, Mom…" _Oh, seems like Leo has been blown up again… Well, it's not like that hasn't happened before either… _"…Mom."_

"Mom."

Piper's heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice, but her mind was still too fogged to see the small figure of her yet-to-be son who was watching quietly from the corner all this time.

"Mom, please stop." It took the Halliwell matriarch a while to find the source of the soft speech, and the calm state Chris was in caused her chest to fall suddenly with a sharp pain coming from deep inside, fresh tears blurring her vision right away. That was wrong, he shouldn't be there, he shouldn't see her mother using her powers on his Dad, _**they**_ shouldn't allow him to watch all of this. Yet the thing that disturbed her most was that her baby shouldn't be so content with seeing his parents arguing like that.

"Chris sweetie, I'm gonna have to leave you with your Dad for a while." She watched as her future self cut off Leo before he could utter a single word in protest and walked up to the child. "Be a good boy and do as he says, okay?"

Leaving no time for either him or his father to respond she placed a kiss on her youngest's forehead and stormed out of the room, still fuming. After a moment of silence they could hear another child's voice – presumably Wyatt's, and the puff that followed told them that memory Piper and the Twice-Blessed left the manor.

The small boy gazed at the man standing in front of him, and seeing Chris's lifeless expression Piper could not hold her tears back anymore. Just what kind of mother would let her child witness something like that and leave him behind without as much as the slightest sign of concern? She already saw herself leaving once in the same manner when he was younger, but never thought she would make a habit of it. Was that really all she could do? Walk out on Chris?

The memory didn't progress for a while as the kid was only watching his father slowly calming down, but even after he regained his composure, nothing had happened. Leo watched in horror as his future self hesitated to move, not knowing at all what to do with the child.

'_He is your son, go, play with him dammit!'_ Paige felt like yelling at the man as he managed to force a somewhat loving smile on his face, yet it was obvious that it took him a great effort to do so. The redhead had serious difficulties with containing herself from shouting at the Elder, but seeing the building rage in Piper's eyes she decided to rather take some sadistic pleasures in her sister's lashing out on him later. _'Oh yeah, that's gonna be fun.'_

Even though they still didn't receive a proper explanation on why was Chris referring to her and Cole as his parents, Paige already had some wild guesses about how she became more to him than a mere aunt. To say that Piper didn't act like herself in the memories was a huge understatement, yet the affection for her in Chris's eyes was undeniable, even when she shouted at him in front of the school. The boy could hide pretty well that she hurt him by not listening to what he had to say, or by leaving him behind because of Wyatt, yet he still loved her. Whatever she would do, whatever in the world happened, the youngest Charmed One had no doubt that Piper Halliwell would always stay Chris's _**mother**_. But maybe, just maybe, as for being his _**Mom**_…

"Well…" the Elder in the memory kept shifting his weight nervously from one of his legs to the other, almost as if waiting for his own execution to begin, and only a few meters away two beautiful, jade eyes were lurking around the room, signaling that their owner was not more comfortable with the situation either. Finally, Chris's stare settled down on the man standing in front of him, and the Elder couldn't ignore the feeling of his chest being pierced through by the intense gaze anymore.

"Umm… Do you want to…" memory Leo started uncertainly, desperately seeking for something that could make the two of them busy until Piper's return. He stopped his search at the TV for a moment, but after a second though he decided to move on. "Do you want to play cards with me?" he finally asked when noticing a pack of cards lying on the floor among the other toys.

"Will you really play with me?" the innocent question surprised everyone, yet the Elder only nodded and made his way to the couch, asking the kid to join him.

Meanwhile, Leo started to make promises to himself inwardly. Promises about changing the future, about being a real father for both of his children, about making up to Chris for not knowing what kind of games he liked. Promises he would keep like as if his life depended on it.

He couldn't help but feel utterly defeated as he saw Chris grabbing the cards and sitting next to his Dad, keeping a bit of a distance between them that his counterpart apparently didn't mind very much. Not so long ago he was absolutely sure that Cole somehow edged him out of his role as a father, but now he saw things under a completely different light. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the ex-Source didn't necessarily have to do anything to play him off, it was _**him**_ and him only who lost the right to call the boy his son.

The pair was playing in silence, only the cards made slight sounds occasionally when they've been lifted from or put on the coffee table. The green orbs were restlessly studying the features of the man whom Wy called his father, yet Chris wasn't sure if he was even allowed to address him like that. But how could he, when not even his Mom has had anything nice to say to this person, since every time he showed up they instantly started arguing, mainly about the Elders. Not that he knew what those were, but Wy told him Chris was supposed to be partly one of them, and will get some awesome firepower later on because of it.

"Dad," he began still looking at his father, waiting for approval to go on. Only when the Elder cleared his throat and nodded did he continue. "Do you know where Mom took Wy?"

Memory Leo pretended to think for a while, then gave a kind of apologetic look for the kid.

"No Christopher, I don't know. Sorry," he answered only partly honestly, since he had a few ideas about where they might have gone. However, what he didn't expect was the fact that Chris already had an answer for his own question.

"They went to the museum," he stated in a light tone, "they have dinosaurs there."

The Elder seemed to be taken aback quite a bit, but in the end he only nodded acceptably and drew his focus back to the play.

"Wy doesn't like dinosaurs."

Now that was something worth his attention. His oldest son disliked dinosaurs. He quickly saved the piece of information in his head, and thanked the higher powers that he never gave him anything related to them as a present for his birthday.

"It's me who likes them. I told Wy about the museum and he asked Mom to take us."

"Oh," was the only word memory Leo managed to push out on his mouth. So Piper misunderstood Wyatt and took him instead of Chris. Well, stuff like that happens when you are a Halliwell witch with two children to take care of, doesn't it?

"You think she will take me too if I ask her?"

"Are you jealous of your brother again, Christopher?" the Elder asked simply, expecting an admission as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"WHAT?" Piper yelled at the man standing beside her. "Tell me I've heard it wrong Leo. Tell me you didn't ask our son if he was JEALOUS of his brother!" she shouted at him as she seemed to come to her senses, not being able to keep her temper in check. Leo was way too stunned to form any kind of respond, but fortunately the hurt expression of Chris drew the oldest sister's attention away from him, preventing a very painful explosion that she would have caused to his body.

"I-I'm not-"Chris began, but was interrupted by his father before he could finish the sentence.

"This is not very nice you know. Wyatt only tried to make you happy. It's not his fault that your mother misunderstood his intentions."

"I know, but-"

"You should appreciate his care for you more, Christopher," he cut the youngster off fiercely, his attitude completely changing as he was speaking. The man who, mere minutes ago at least _**tried**_ to be nice to his child was gone, and an angry, cold person took his body as a replacement.

"I know that he cares about me, but…"

"But what?"

'_This is bad.' _Paige could feel the tension growing between father and son, and as she watched the Elder getting worked up by every passing second she made a mental note to kill her brother-in-law later because of the spiteful manner he spoke to his child – even if it only happened in a timeline they would _**definitely**_ erase.

"But Wy is… there is something wrong with-"

"Oh for God's sake, not that again Christopher!" shouted memory Leo while he got up hurriedly and looked down at Chris with so much rage that even the memory-invaders took a step back from him.

"Wyatt is perfectly fine, there is no need to make up stories about him to get our attention!"

"I don't…"

"Oh, please, like you don't know what I'm talking about! Wyatt would never lie to us like you do. You have a lot to learn from your brother, since he is nothing like you, Christopher!"

"_**LEO**_!" The hateful manner that future Leo presented towards Chris was the final straw for Piper, and she was ready to take out her anger on the present version of her ex-husband. She advanced on him dangerously, but the usual flick of her hand didn't bring the desired effect. She kept trying nonetheless, hoping that her powers would return in the very close future. "If you think it's alright to take your anger towards me out on _**him**_, then you are dead wrong!"

"Piper, that's not me…"

"Like hell he isn't, Leo!"

From the surprise Phoebe couldn't manage more than to open and close her mouth as a fish, and Paige quietly prayed that the spell would wear off before they saw something nobody would be able to forgive for Leo…

"I didn't mean to…" a teary Chris tried to make his father listen to him, but the man didn't seem to be interested. "But Wy really—"

"Just save it! Wyatt is okay, so just save it!"

"But Dad…"

Just with a quick glance Phoebe caught memory Leo's intention before he had the time to raise his hand, and unable to do anything else, she turned around and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to witness what would follow suit.

"I AM NOT YOUR-!"

"Don't even bother finishing that sentence," came the deep voice from the direction of the door, "I'm sure he has already figured that out by himself."

"Cole!" Phoebe jumped from the happiness when she saw him entering the conservatory, slowly approaching Chris in his usual, calm manner.

"He is a smart boy you know," Cole added, smiling at the Witchlighter genuinely.

The Elder in the memory froze the moment he noticed the demon, and he was still staring at his raised hand blankly, as if wondering just what on Earth he wanted to do with it in the first place. When the realization hit him he slowly lowered his arm, watching the kid's frightened and tear-washed face in shock.

"I suggest you to leave, Leo," Cole said while taking Chris in his arms and brushing away the tears from his pale skin.

"I… I'm so…" It was memory Leo's time to be in loss for words as he was locking eyes with his child. The dismay that occupied their faces was almost identical, since apparently neither of them thought the man would indeed take such drastic actions in order to avoid listening to the small boy.

"Just go," Cole finished their short-lived conversation in a tone that left no place for arguments. Still being dumbstruck at what could have happened without the demon's intrusion, Leo orbed away, making Chris shiver uncomfortably and bury his head in his Uncle's shoulder.

The Charmed sisters and Leo saw as he took the trembling boy back to the couch and kneel-ed down in front of him, telling him soothing words that would ease his heavy crying. He tried to make the half-breed stay sitting on the couch but Chris wasn't buying any of it, and in a moment he managed to get Cole sit next to him while he was clinging into his neck, repeating the same sentence over and over.

"There is something wrong with him, Uncle Cole. Something with Wy…" he wiped away his tears with his tiny fist stubbornly, but as soon as he was done fresh ones replaced them, so he gave in and let himself cry for about a good five minutes in Cole's tight embrace.

"I know buddy. I know…"

Piper felt nauseous. The only thing that kept her from breaking the Elder's neck with her own hands was that she didn't have the strength to get into another fight with him, as having to cope with everything they came to know in such a short time drained all of her energy. She felt betrayed. Betrayed by Leo mainly, but the fact that it was _**her**_ who left Chris behind to take Wyatt to a place where her younger son wanted to go… it was nothing that would ease her guilt either.

Still, what Leo had almost done… No, this was just too much. Everything they saw felt so unreal, so much like a freaking nightmare. If only she could stay in focus to come up with a spell that would end this terrific vision…

She closed her eyes in concentration but the inspiration didn't come, as everything in her mind was reeling around Chris. She gave out a frustrated sigh and let her arms drop by her sides lazily.

"Piper…" Leo made a weak attempt to get through to her but trailed off instantly as the oldest sister flinched away from his touch.

"Why, Leo?" she looked at him pleadingly, but he lost the guts to look her in the eyes. The Elder bowed his head down in shame and responded in a barely audible whisper.

"I don't know Piper. I just don't know."

"He really isn't my Dad, is he?" when the boy more or less got his emotions under control, he looked up at his Uncle with so much understanding in his green orbs that it made Leo turn his back on the scene, being disgusted with how he acted.

"Of course he is, Chris. Let's not upset your mother by making her hear you say something like this, okay?" Cole gently stroked the black locks that were stick at Chris's forehead and the kid shook his head, gesturing that he wouldn't do anything to hurt his Mom.

"Now, I don't know much about cards," the demon let a playful smirk to take over his features, "but will I do as an opponent?" Without waiting for an answer he reached for the table to grab the cards but he stopped in midway when he felt a tiny hand tapping on his shoulder.

"Will you be my Dad?" the little witch decided to whisper his question, like he was being afraid anybody would hear it besides his Uncle.

Cole stared at him for a while in amazement but seeing Chris retreat at the silence he quickly gave him a reassuring smile and continued to collect the cards that Leo shove off from the table.

"I'd be happy to."

Phoebe looked at the man who once again won over her heart without even being present in the last few years. Cole Turner was meant to come back to her life and he gave her nephew a father, since the real one was apparently absent during his childhood. She remembered their first encounter with the demon, the times when he fought his dark nature just to be able to stay close to her. She always knew he was a good person in the heart, and it wasn't his fault that the Source chose him to be the king of the Underworld. It was fate that took him away from her, but it seemed like he was destined to return to her once and for all… Yes, her hero would return soon, and the Empath couldn't wait for the moment when she could finally sink in those icy-blue eyes forever.

Being already lost in that feeling of joy the middle Charmed sister realized a bit late that she was not looking at that little kid anymore, nor was the love of her life sitting next to him. She was staring at a much older Chris with chestnut brown hair and a relaxed face that indicated he was most likely asleep. The young man rested on a huge, comfy-looking bed with many pillows surrounding him, carefully placed on both his sides. He appeared to be just a bit younger than from the person who had been their Whitelighter up until now.

The large, cozy room was nothing like the sisters and Leo had seen in the memories yet. In size it was at least as big as a ballroom, and the luxurious decoration screamed that it must have been in a place you cannot enter if you are not a part of that so-called higher social class. Yet despite all the luxury there was something that disturbed the onlookers until no end... the greyness. Everything seemed like as if they had been stripped from their natural color, and even though it was light outside there were no sun rays that would brighten the room up.

"Awake yet?"

Neither of the three women nor the Elder did recognize the voice until the figure of its owner closed the door behind himself and took a few firm steps approaching the bed. He was tall, just a little bit taller than Leo was, and had shoulder length, dirty blond hair. His wavy locks were tucked behind his ear, and the black T-shirt and black jeans he was wearing stood in a great contrast with his dead, light-blue orbs.

Chris stirred and opened his eyes, but his blurred vision was clearing up slower than he expected and by the time he recognized the man he was already sitting on the corner of the bed.

"I healed your wounds and brought you up here to avoid any further… incidents," he carried on in a monotone voice. The half-Whitelighter looked around and taking in his surroundings he sat up suddenly alerted, backing away from the man bit.

"You shouldn't have bothered Wyatt…"

"Wyatt!" Leo exhaled excitedly. The masculine form that leaned concerned above his brother indeed belonged to Wyatt Matthew Halliwell. Although after what the Elder learned he really didn't want to question his younger son's judgment about the Twice-Blessed's changed morals, but if he ignored the dark clothing then Wyatt didn't actually seem to be evil…

"…I preferred my cell anyways."

'_Wishful thinking…' _Leo added for himself as a sad after-thought, since there was no way Wyatt turned out okay if he really kept his brother in a cell now, was it?

"I apologize for my assistant's behavior. But don't worry, I made sure they would not cause you anymore trouble…"

"Are you referring to your demons as assistants now?" Chris forced out a fake laugh, but the older male saw that his eyes were constantly seeking for an escape route.

"You don't have to go back there you know. We could be a family again…"

"We stopped being a family a long time ago."

"You're wrong, Chris. We will always be brothers, there is nothing you can do about that," the golden-haired man said meaningfully and waited until he caught the younger Halliwell's gaze. "It's true that we chose separate ways for the time being, but only if you decided to stay with me…" he finished, but since his words had no effect on Chris he changed his tactics.

"I could always grant a peaceful life for you. There is nobody in this world who would dare to touch you if I announced your return."

Chris looked sadly at the monster whom he once called his brother, and covering his pain he turned around defiantly.

"Why can't you just drop that power hungry attitude, Wy? Do you really believe that power is the most important thing in the whole world?"

"Power is essential if you want to protect the things important to you… family being one of them." The Twice-Blessed waited for some kind of reaction to his speech, but as he was receiving none he went on. "What about our cousins? Don't you want to live together with them? Don't you want them to have a life where they wouldn't have to hide and fight for their survival?" Wyatt smirked as Chris shrugged at the mention of the last remaining members of their family. "If you tell me where they are…"

"You will never find them." Chris stated calmly, yet he didn't appear to be as confident as he planned to.

"Oh, I will find them Chris. Sooner or later I will..."

Piper observed in terror the sadistic grin that occupied her little sunshine's face, transforming him into an evil, maniacally laughing stranger. Her knees gave in and Leo caught her just in time before her upper body hit the ground.

"…but only God knows what would happen to them if my minions found them before me… They are pretty hard to control sometimes you know," he paused only to favor the moment, since the dreadful expression of his younger brother's filled him with utter satisfaction. "But if you really do not wish to help them…"

"You will _**not**_ find them, Wyatt," Chris stated more certainly than before, realizing that Wyatt was only playing yet another one of his messing-up-your-mind games.

"As I said, I will. And I just might give them another chance, depending on if you help me or not…They are still our family after all, aren't they?"

"Weren't the ones you killed family as well?"

Phoebe and Paige gasped at what they've heard, but they were too busy with their sister to comment, since Piper was only barely conscious.

"Don't tell me you're still stuck at what happened with Aunt Paige, Chris. You know that it was just an accident… I never had any intention of killing her."

"I bet you didn't. Just like when Mom…"

"Enough of this!" the Twice-Blessed raised his voice when no reasoning seemed to work with Chris. "You _**know**_ that I spared Paige's, Cole's and our cousins' lives only because of _**you**_! Mom and the rest would have survived as well if they wouldn't hurt you like they did!"

"I LOVED them! It was YOU who hurt me by taking them away from me!"

"It was for the best, Christopher! They would have just kept on…" Wyatt paused abruptly to take a deep breath and tried to face his brother in a quieter manner. "You _**have**_ to see it. I did it because-"

"Wasn't she the best mother you could have wished for? Didn't you love her, Wy?" Chris tried his best to keep his tears in bay but they persistently threatened to fall as the fight kept on going.

"I did…"

The quiet confession drew everyone's attention back at the scene, where the older Halliwell desperately tried to get closer to Chris.

"…but I loved you more."

Nothing seemed to want to break the silence, but Phoebe gave out a tiny sound from the surprise when Chris turned back to his brother. Only his slightly red eyes signaled that there were tears in them moments ago and his previously soft features formed a hardened expression they were used to see on their Whitelighter.

"Join me Chris. You don't have to live in that rat hole you call Resistance. Join me and I will bring our family back together."

Piper was hardly in a state to rationalize things, yet she saw the longing look that both of her boys sent towards each other and tried to call out their names – all in vain.

"I'm sorry Wyatt. I cannot choose a stranger over my family."

The room suddenly started to shake as the Twice-Blessed let his anger take him over, and whatever little emotion was left in him disappeared all at once.

"As you wish, Christopher," he spoke in a dangerous sounding tone and folded his arms, taking a menacing posture. "I did not intend to bring her into this, but if you keep refusing to see things from my perspective…"

"Who are you talking about?" the Witchlighter took a step back, obviously fearing what his brother's plans might be.

"You are being poisoned with that good versus evil thing our mother fed you for years, and it's time that I make you see there is no line that separates the two..."

"WHO-ARE-YOU-TALKING-ABOUT?"

"If you think I'm corrupted because I killed Mom and Uncle Henry on my own will, then I wonder what will _**you**_ do when you kill our only remaining Aunt with your own two hands."

"No… that can't be…" Chris muttered as his eyes grew wide with anxiety.

"Oh, I assure you, it _**can**_ be, little brother. Phoebe has always been my favorite Aunt, but if that's what it takes to make you join me…"

"I will never do it!" the young man screamed in agony, knowing that Wyatt always achieved what he set his mind upon.

"Don't worry, I don't need your mind to cooperate. A possessor demon will do just fine…"

"NO!"

Golden glow emitted from seemingly nowhere and the bystanders felt being pulled away from the memory by an unknown force before they landed on the floor of the attic harshly. The youngest Charmed sister had to blink a few times to clear her vision but by the time she recognized the manor Phoebe and Leo were already aware that the force that ended the spell wasn't so unknown for them after all. Paige frowned when she took a glance at the pedestal with the Book of Shadows, as next to it the tensed, fuming figure clutching a piece of paper furiously wasn't something she expected for her sight to meet.

"Did you have fun?"

...

_Hey! Update, finally. Sorry for taking so long, I've had my reasons.  
For those who still read this story, thank you so much for the reviews, I really appreciate your feedback :) And also thanks for the offers to help me as a beta :)  
Thanks for reading and please keep on reviewing so I know what do you want to read about (always open to suggestions), or tell me why didn't you like it so I can fix it._

_I hope this chapter answered some of your questions. As for why is Cole there and how did he get there - that will be revealed soon :) Also, don't worry if you didn't get who was whose child in the previous chapter, it won't be that relevant anyway, and will be a little cleared up later too._

_That's it, million thanks to iHATEfangirls for betaing this chapter :)_


	8. Chapter 8

A comforting yellow light sifted through Piper's closed eyelids, bringing a much less comfortable warm feeling that kept increasing steadily until it reached a slightly painful level. The witch was just starting to actually consider the possibility that she had blacked out, but something told her people most likely weren't aware of unconsciousness. After being suffocated in the heat for what it felt like eternity, she felt the back of her head making contact with something hard. It didn't take as long for the throbbing to come as she expected, and she let out a faint yelp from the sudden soreness. Piper felt her numb muscles being moved by some outer force, and due to the caressing hand on her cheeks and soothing whispers she gathered the strength to open her brown eyes.

A tall, dark figure came into her sight as her vision slowly cleared up, only to make her recognize a person she didn't really wish to see right then. Her Whitelighter.

The Charmed One began to collect her memories from the last few hours, giving up in frustration after realizing that she vaguely remembered anything. However, her annoyance didn't last long, as the flashbacks came immediately upon meeting Chris's gaze. Those tired, strangely old eyes would have told her a whole story of a lifetime long suffering even if she didn't know the tale that led them appear to be so lifeless.

But she did. She knew that the constant sadness lurking in those emerald orbs was real, and she knew that the rage that resided in them currently was her punishment. Because it _**was**_ her fault that the man standing in front of her – or rather above her – was now so full of anger that it even reflected on the emotional mask he always wore, despite him never giving it a chance to slip from its place. Piper wondered if the tense form of her Whitelighter was only a vision, a hallucination produced by her mind as a way of coping with being the cause of that cold expression, her chastisement for the way she acted towards this young, yet so tried man.

Phoebe and Leo went for the oldest sister the moment the spell ended, not noticing Paige having trouble with getting to her feet. The Elder laid Piper's head in his lap, trying to make her come around, and he hardly had time to recognize they were in the manor when he noticed that Phoebe was staring intently at the direction of the Book of Shadows. He understood why straightaway. Leo saw Paige looking up after a short while as well, comprehension overtaking her soft features.

"Did you have fun?" The deep, sharp voice echoed in Piper's mind distantly, making her dizzy since her ears were barely able to pick up any noise up until now. She watched in awe as the half-witch stepped closer to her, fury radiating from every fiber of his body, mixed with something else Piper wasn't able to identify. It was something between disapproval, disappointment and… anxiety? She couldn't tell. She wasn't exactly aware of her surroundings, thus was unable to explain why her odd projection of Chris expected an answer. She wasn't even awake enough to tell that Chris and her weren't the only people present in the… where was she again? In a dream perhaps?

"What did you see?" the half-breed asked accusingly when no one dared to respond to his previous question. His face held no trace of emotions, yet his inner fight to keep himself together was evident on his slightly erratic breathing. Phoebe swallowed nervously and glanced around, looking like as if she was a mouse trapped in a corner with no opportunity or hope of getting out. The Whitelighter whose opinion never mattered to her unexpectedly became her nephew, and she just didn't know how to deal with facing him after all they'd done to him. Still, seeing that her older sister was still in shock, her younger one retreated in fear of saying something hurtful and chase Chris away, and knowing that letting Leo do the talk wasn't the greatest of ideas, she decided to take her usual role as the mediator.

"We saw… everything," the Empath replied after gulping again audibly, feeling a bit lame for not knowing how to voice the concept she meant. She saw the spell she'd written being clutched in Chris's hands, but she couldn't be sure if he knew what they did until he made it clear. And even then, how was she supposed to tell him that they broke into his memories, that they saw things he fought so hard to keep hidden from them?

"You have to be a bit more specific than that," he demanded in a serious tone, making Piper shiver involuntarily at its business-like manner. She was now sure that the Powers That Be were doing this to show her the result of her behavior in the form of that cold man, who grew way too far from the always beloved boy he was supposed to be. Yes, she was to suffer by witnessing what her contented ignorance created: a damaged man from an innocent son, a stony person with a terrible past, a boy who risked his life and gave up everything to save his brother. A fighter.

"We know who you are Chris," she heard Phoebe's voice quietly responding to his command, but it was Chris who made Piper consider the possibility of her nightmare being reality.

"And who am I, Phoebe?"

…And who was he?

Was he the child she left in the care of Leo, only to find him crying in terror a few minutes later? Was he the boy she shouted at furiously when he got into trouble at school? Was he that broken teenager who dealt with his grief by going on demon hunts so often that even his uncle had to worry about him? Or the one who smiled lovingly at his cousins and cherished his family, but called his aunt 'Mom' instead of her? Was he the man – not the boy, but the leader – who organized a whole rebellion, who gave shelter for God only knows how many people, who planned out the whole thing about changing the past... and who never opened up for anyone? Or was he the man who strictly punished a kid who supposedly demanded Chris to hurt his brother, despite Wyatt putting him into a cell and forcing him to kill her middle sister? Could he be simply the annoying, restless Whitelighter who never let his emotions surface even though his own family hurt him in ways she never wanted to imagine?

Just _**who**_ was this person standing in front of her?

And more importantly, which option was she able to accept without going insane from guilt?

"You are my son," Leo stated nonchalantly, but Piper didn't pick up the turmoil held by the sentence.

Son. Well, it certainly wasn't the option that would spare her the remorse that has been building inside her since she saw her future self call that adorable baby her _**son**_. That one single word suddenly contained so many concepts Piper couldn't even begin to describe.

An awfully long silence followed the statement, tension reaching the point that makes you want to scream just to avoid the muteness. The two younger sisters were waiting for their nephew to respond, to give them either an admission or a denial. They could do with whichever really, anything to escape the stillness that threatened to consume their sanity.

And just like that, as a ray of hope rising completely out of the blue, Chris's blank mien changed. Paige could almost see the two justifications battle inside him, the intention of denying the truth being so intense that she was sure Chris would go for another lie. Just by looking at him she found so many suppressed emotions: the anger for violating his privacy, the dread of revealing his secret, the bitterness caused by their betrayal… but most of all, the need of ruling out the prospect of rejection. The yearning for their acceptance.

Needless to mention her astonishment upon hearing the poised confession from her nephew, who apparently decided that ignorance would be the quickest and easiest way out.

When Chris finally spoke his voice lacked all kind of acknowledgement. He bowed his head yielding to his fate, not even bothering to give the impression of being interested in the conversation.

"That doesn't change anything."

He's right. Piper wanted him to be right so bad. That way she wouldn't have to handle her conscience that kept on screamed 'guilty' louder and louder by each passing second.

"But of course it does! It changes… it changes _**everything**_!"

No, it doesn't. Phoebe's wrong. It doesn't.

Chris's face regained its typical composed state rather quickly as he uttered his response calmly.

"My identity doesn't matter, Phoebe."

It was true. For the oldest Halliwell sister not even his identity mattered anymore, as it could not change what had happened in the past. It did not change what she's done.

Piper felt being pulled into a horrible flashback that lasted only for an instance, but still managed to sum up every single thing she's been regretting the most. Regardless her best efforts to chase the dark spots clouding her vision away she didn't possess the strength to run from the mental pictures, and all she could do was to watch the distinct scenes playing out in slow motion.

"_**You are no longer welcome in our home, Chris,"**_ she states in a heavy tone, not giving her Whitelighter the space to defend his actions.

_**"You came here to hurt my baby!"**_ she shouts at him mere minutes after trapping him in a crystal cage - the same one they used to trap demons in.

_**"But I don't trust you,"**_ she states simply looking away, not giving the young man a chance to explain himself.

_**"You are not family, Chris,"**_ she hears Leo say, and shrugs off the sad look that momentarily takes over Chris's face with little to no difficulty.

_**"How dare you?" **_Piper watches her own fingers spread threateningly in the air as the familiar feeling of anger rushes through her body. Her sight meets the target of her fury and she instinctively tries to yell, to urge him to run, to warn him to protect himself… but all her screams seem to die on her mouth. Regardless of the struggle to stop her hands from moving, the witch feels her powers being triggered by her intentions – her clear intention of _**hurting**_ him.

Piper tries to close her eyes but they don't give in, brawn easily making her a prisoner of her own body. She is forced to watch as her hands twitch involuntarily, left to study Chris's glassy expression while the explosion is caught by the invisible cage.

"How can you even say that?" she heard Phoebe's disbelieving voice, and only then did Piper manage to let go of the frightening images. "Y-you are my nephew! You are Piper's and Leo's son!"

There was that word again. The word that had just gotten a whole new meaning in the last few minutes.

Son.

The Halliwell matriarch saw Chris flinch upon hearing the term, biting down on his lower lip hard. Such a simple, trivial action of covering his real feelings would have gone unnoticed if performed by her _**Whitelighter**_, but it couldn't not stick out when done by her _**son**_. Wait, scratch the emphasis.

_**Her**_ son.

Chris, who apparently had some difficulties with containing himself from orbing away, released his hold on the piece of paper, running his hand through his thick hair instead. Whereas the denial stage has been long over in Piper's case towards the man in front of her, she couldn't help but notice the familiarity in his movement. She always used to brush her brown locks out of her face in a similar manner when being distressed, or when she found herself in a situation she desperately wanted to escape. And that was the point when she decided that no matter how proud she should be at her baby boy growing into this courageous, selfless warrior, she didn't have the right to put him through the life Chris had to withstand.

No, her son will never feel nervous and odd around his family like his currents self does. No, her son will never feel the need to disguise himself from them, and she's going to make sure he knows how much they love and cherish him. And no, her son will _**not**_ have eyes this dark and full of sorrow while he's trying to distance himself from the people who should provide him comfort and security from the moment he's born.

No. _**Her**_ son will _**never**_ have to become this wounded person.

"…no."

Piper saw Chris wincing at the word she mumbled unconsciously, and watched as he inhaled sharply before lowering his head almost as if in loss. He didn't move and kept his gaze stubbornly fixed at the floor, yet for some reason he looked like as if he was just hit right in the chest. When the tears began to well up in his green orbs he quickly squeezed his eyes shut, and the oldest sister finally realized she wasn't in his memories anymore.

But as usual the realization didn't come on time, and all she could do was to keep observing inertly as Chris reopened his beautiful, shining eyes, and right then Piper would have done anything to kill the understanding that settled in his powerful stare. He didn't – _**couldn't**_ understand, not when she made him misinterpret her thoughts so badly. She didn't mean to deny him, but now couldn't think of a way to reassure him either. Words merely didn't bandage the injuries she caused her child anymore.

…_**'And who was he?'**_

"Chris, don't," Paige spoke up close to tears herself after sensing the man's will of orbing away, but due to her weak voice it unsurprisingly came out more like a plea than a demand. Still, despite its shortness the redhead's begging told him how much she wanted him there, how much she wanted to solace him, to soothe him. It told him everything he wanted to hear since the moment he arrived to the past, and it was a shame that even after being here for more than half a year, it barely came a word too late.

Chris slowly raised his head to eye the youngest Charmed One, and ignoring the lump in his throat he gave her a sad smile that implied he understood her unspoken wish, but left no doubt that he didn't give up on getting away from them.

"I'm sorry," was the only sentence he managed to push out of himself, mainly because of the burning feeling in his eyes becoming too great to pay no attention to.

_**'And who was he?'**_

By the time he disappeared in the bright blue spots Phoebe was crying openly, but Piper didn't feel the strength to produce any more tears. She hadn't cried as much as in the last few hours since Prue died. Thanks to her exhaustion her brain soon submitted to the darkness that threatened to take over for a while now, and ironically enough, at the blissful moment of passing out she got her dreaded answer she refused to agree to so far.

The random shapes projected on the back of her eyelids created the form of the man who recently orbed out, and all of a sudden Piper just knew who Christopher Perry Halliwell was.

Her Whitelighter has been her son all along, and now she bundled him off to a faraway place where he was completely out of her reach. He was _**her**_ son… and he will probably never acknowledge _**her**_ as a mother.

How would Piper ever make up to him, she'll never know.

…

The oldest Halliwell witch was woken up by the familiar sound of baby crying, but her ears were met by comfortable silence by the time she had opened her eyes. She sat up in her bed instinctively, tossing the blanket away in hurry, but the calming, deep voice of her husband stopped her actions before her legs could touch the floor. Instantly relaxing upon the thought of Leo watching over Wyatt in the next room Piper decided to give in to the throbbing headache and fell back onto the large pillows heavily. The clock on the old bedside cabinet signaled that it was way past noon, which, under normal circumstances would make the brunette go nuts about having overslept, yet in the current situation the first apprehensive thought that came to her mind had nothing to do with her usual obsessive punctuality.

All Piper could think about was the person who had been present in her dreams all night long, and whose absence now caused her emptiness on a level she'd never experienced before. Chris.

She sat up slowly on the bed, massaging her scalp carefully to avoid further soreness. She failed miserably, of course. The idea of calling Chris and apologize to him came to her for a moment, but it was turned down just as rapidly because of her lack of courage. What could she say to him after practically denying him anyway? _**"…no."**_ Words hold incredible power indeed, she realized.

"Hey," Phoebe entered the room with a cup of warm tea in her hands, "You're awake." She forced a smile on her face which was left unreturned, so she walked up to her sister and offered her the liquid instead. Piper took the cup with a shaky hand, grateful for the gesture but not having the strength to show it. She just hoped that Phoebe's empathic powers would kick in and answer her next question which was already hanging in the air, and to which the older woman wouldn't be able to give a satisfying respond if her life depended on it.

"How are you feeling?"

'_Empath-blocking potions suck,'_ Piper decided. She couldn't even identify some of the feelings that were reeling through her, let alone name them. Fortunately the Empath didn't need her powers to work on her sister to read the hurt in her gaze, reminding Phoebe of the expression on little Chris' face in the memories when he was sitting in front of that school alone, looking lost. Knowing that she could provide no comfort right now in that area Phoebe decided to bring up another topic, trying to distract Piper and prepare her for some unpleasant things at the same time.

"Paige is… well…" she began, searching for the right words to break the news gently to her sister, "I don't think she will calm down anytime soon."

Piper raised her head at the statement but her tired manner of speaking betrayed her indifference towards the conversation. "What do you mean?"

"She and Leo had a really big fight this morning," Phoebe paused, waiting for some kind of reaction. When receiving none she went on a bit sadly. "Apparently Paige holds the behavior of Leo in the memory against our Leo… if that makes any sense," she said, remembering the hurtful words that the youngest Charmed One shouted at the Elder, while Leo was only staring at his feet shamefully, remaining unresponsive. It was a rather one-sided fight now that she thought about it.

And of course, it did make sense for Piper. She had felt the same way for a while after all, and it still took her a great deal effort to distinguish the two men from each other. They all were a long way from coming to terms with the actions of Leo's and hers future counterparts.

"And… she's pretty mad at you Piper."

Well, how could she not be? She was mad at herself for crying out loud.

Phoebe sensed the frustration coming from the older woman, and softened her tone impossibly more.

"I know that you didn't mean it Piper, but…"

"I want him," Piper stated confidently, much to Phoebe's astonishment. "I really do. I just… I couldn't tell him that. God, why couldn't I tell him that Phoebe?" she went on, not knowing where the words came from. "He'll never want to have anything to do with me…"

Phoebe had to blink a few times from the surprise that her sibling's sudden outburst caused, but collected herself for the sake of preventing the breakdown that already casted a huge shadow over Piper's features.

"That's not true…"

"Yes it is! I've hurt him Phoebe! I've hurt my own son!"

The bitter taste that was left in her mouth after her display of self-loathing stunned Piper, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, almost as if she had just said something forbidden, sinful.

"We all did, honey," Phoebe gave a weak attempt to console her, "but we will make it up to him," she finished, trying her hardest to believe they still had a chance to make things right with her nephew. Little did she know that with her little speech the only thing she unintentionally succeeded in was making Piper feel even worse…

Because Piper knew that her sister's words didn't exactly cover the truth, no matter how much easier that would be for her. Not _**all**_ of them hurt Chris, no. Their youngest sister didn't.

Paige was right. Paige has been right all along. She didn't agree with them when they decided to ban Chris from the manor, she didn't want to use her powers to trap him in the crystal cage, and she refused to throw that damned potion at him – the one Paige herself made upon Piper's command. It was Piper who forced her to do those things while she was clearly opposed to them.

The redhead was just another victim of her foolishness and unforgivable obstinacy.

Hugging the cup of tea to her chest and brushing away the single teardrop that was running down her cheek Piper finally came to a conclusion she had never in a million years thought would be this agonizing and spiteful.

Maybe Paige deserved the title 'mother' more when it came to Chris in the end.

Maybe… maybe Paige indeed had more right to call Chris _**her**_ son.

_..._

_Hey there! A little shorter than the previous chapters, I know, and it probably doesn't have the effect I've been going for. But I tried, I really did - I wanted to write this chapter from Chris's point of view at first, and I did. Twice, actually. Seriously, I have finished two (longer) chapters that featured more of Chris's thoughts, then I had to realize it just doesn't work out. So I went for the second best option I guess: Piper._

_I plan to write the next chapter entirely about Chris and his childhood though, so many questions will be answered - hopefully... my mood tends to change a lot when I write. :) _

_Oh, and I'd love to answer all of your questions, really, but that would pretty much ruin the story...__ So you're gonna have to wait for my explanations in the following chapters (and I definitely will have an explanation to everything that happens, like future Piper's and Leo's behavior, and so on... I've had the main storyline planned in my mind from the very start (yep, up until the last chapter), and believe me, I don't like when something is left unanswered in a story either.)_

_Thank you for the kind reviews, I really appreciate them, I didn't think there were so many of you still following this story... So thank you so much!_

_And of course special thanks to my beta iHATEfangirls :)_


	9. Chapter 9

Despite the late hour, the city of San Francisco was busy as usual, car lights blending into continuous lines that led to seemingly nowhere. The sky was heavily covered in clouds, leaving no space for the moonlight to slip through, and certainly not helping the dark figure to reach his destination.

From the cemetery there was a perfect line of sight to the sparkling Golden Gate Bridge, and the young man savored every moment of the stillness that the midnight vision provided… the lull forerunning a storm. He made his way through the graveyard at a slow, steady pace, apparently not minding the approaching thunder at all.

"Twenty more yards to the west,"said the man to himself after changing his direction abruptly, obviously following an imaginary map he must only know from hearsay. By the time he got to his desired location, it looked like it was going to rain soon, but slamming the blade of his spade sharply into the soil, he started to dig nonetheless. The first raindrop made it to the ground simultaneously with a thunderbolt hitting a spot not far from the city, making the Whitelighter snort at the weather's attempt to dramatize the situation.

Yes, he was a Whitelighter. A superior creation of pure good was willing to get totally drenched in a cemetery, getting muddy only to fetch an urn that was buried there years ago. The situation gave an awkward impression by itself, but the fact that he was the Whitelighter currently appointed to the Charmed Ones didn't help his case either.

The storm water calmly soaked through Chris's hoodie and jeans, leaving goose bumps on his arms as the wind slowly rose. Concentrating on the task at hand, he didn't even look up when a stronger blow broke down a bough from the tree next to him, trying to ignore his surroundings completely. After all, at that moment nothing should have mattered besides finding the Lazarus demon. Still, ever since he left the Manor he was unable to stop thinking about the what had happened in the last week. It wasn't a big surprise really, but it would come in handy if he could pay attention to something other than the image of that disgusted expression of Piper's in his memory.

"_**We know who you are Chris," he's barely recognizing Phoebe's voice, senses being dulled by his own anger. "You are Piper's and Leo's son," she declares, and Chris is just realizing that Leo had said almost the same words somewhere along the confrontation.**_

"_**You are my son…."**_

"_**No." **_

The unpleasant memory was disturbed by the sound of metal clashing against a hard surface, signaling that the wanted object had finally been found. The rain was pouring heavily enough to clean the dirt from the urn almost immediately after being draw from the ground. As soon as the container was secure in Chris' hands, he decided to orb to a somewhat warmer place, leaving the spade behind next to the hole that was being rapidly filled with water. After reappearing in an abandoned lair somewhere in the Underworld, the Whitelighter scattered the ashes of the demon absently, his thoughts still back on his family… or rather on the people who someday _**could have**_ become his family, if _**she**_ wouldn't make it clear she didn't want him anywhere near them.

No, he didn't need the sisters. If anything, weakness has never been Chris' trademark. He could do this on his own, just like he originally intended to. He would find the demon who was responsible for Wyatt's turning, with or without the help of the witches. Besides, it was even easier without the constant nagging of those three, not to mention how he didn't miss Leo's threatening stance at all.

Thinking it through further, Chris realized things hadn't played out as bad as he first thought. Sure, he was angry for having his mind intruded, and was getting worked up just by the thought of meeting the Charmed Ones and the Elder again, but... but at least he wasn't forced into the role of a Whitelighter anymore.

That's right. Chris Perry, the Whitelighter from the future has ceased to exist just a few days ago. Christopher Perry Halliwell, the Witchlighter from the future on the other hand, had no cover to keep up any longer. No restrictions to violate. He could finally use his powers to their full extent. Moreover, he didn't have to hold back on the amount of targets while demon-hunting, and didn't have to fight every step of the way with his charges to get a possible threat to his brother eliminated.

Altogether, being granted so much freedom for revealing his true identity shouldn't have sounded as horrid as it actually _**did**_ in the young man's head. Still, no matter how much weight he tried to put on the bright side, the anger he felt for his 'family's' recent betrayal overrode pretty much every other emotion he could feel… except for the pain that he buried deep down for the time being.

Right now Chris had other things to do. Things that were far more important than sinking into his own desperation. Things that did not include worthless self-pity….

"Who are you, boy?"

Things like wiping the floor with the filthy creature that just materialized in front of him.

...

"Have you seen Paige?" came a voice from the direction of the door, and the Elder turned around only to see the middle Halliwell sister walk into the kitchen with a worried expression on her face.

"Ah, Phoebe," he tried to greet her lightly, but the tension in his voice gave him away instantly.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you," apologized the witch when she picked up on his stressed state, and watched as he proceeded to check the temperature of Wyatt's breakfast before feeding him. Leo taking care of his son had become quite a common sight in the Manor again, and any other day Phoebe would have been jumping from happiness, if it wasn't for her sister….

"No, its okay," the man reassured. "Is Piper awake yet?"

"No. She's apparently trying to sleep the days away."

And there it was, the problem with her sister that she's been unable to solve yet.

"Understandable," said Leo with downcast eyes, readying himself to force a smile before placing the nursing bottle on the high chair.

As much as Wyatt clearly enjoyed his father's attention in these last few days, Phoebe wasn't really content with Piper's behavior. The Empath understood how she must have felt, but surely, being negligent towards her family wasn't the way to deal with her sorrow. They were all upset because of how they treated Chris, but how could they even hope to make it up to him if his own mother rejected even the possibility of coming out of her depression and carrying on with her life?

"So…." Deciding not to go there, Phoebe tried to fetch the piece of information she came to her brother-in-law for in the first place. "Have you seen Paige?"

"No," he answered distantly. "She… she doesn't talk to me much."

"Yeah." The witch knew exactly how her younger sister treated Leo since they last saw their nephew and suddenly she wasn't sure how to console the man. "She doesn't talk to me much either."

"But at least she doesn't leave the room when you enter."

That was true. Paige might have been acting hostile towards the Elder and Piper, but she didn't seem to be disturbed by _**her**_ presence. The redhead didn't really talk to her either, but nevertheless she was giving the signal that her problem had got far less to do with Phoebe than with the rest.

"She does the same to Piper," said Phoebe with sympathy. "She will come around Leo. Just give her some time." Seeing the smile forming in the corner of his mouth Phoebe sent a questioning look to him.

"It's just that…." He stopped there for a moment, unsure how to define the object of his slight amusement. "When it comes to advice… I almost forgot what it feels like to be on the receiving side."

And with that sentence Phoebe realized she almost forgot something too. She almost forgot who she was talking to. The person she was looking at was not just a father feeding his child. She was so busy trying to find a solution for their messed-up relationship with Chris that she failed to see the _**real**_ Leo in the process. This person was not just a broken man who didn't know how to deal with his current problems. He was also her ex-Whitelighter, who gave her comfort and solace so many times she couldn't even count. Leo Wyatt might not have been flawless, but he was the wisest and most helpful man Phoebe has ever known.

Instead of making her way out of the kitchen, Phoebe took the chair next to Wyatt, who was busy with his bottle of milk, and Leo was barely able to notice she sat down when she was already speaking.

"Do you think I make a good aunt?" Seeing the Elder's stunned face she went on, clarifying her question. "I mean… I was the only one who we didn't see in the memories, like I was just… never present, you know."

'_So that's her deal,'_ thought Leo sadly. Each of them had something different on their minds since his youngest son left. Piper and he were mainly beating themselves up for being such terrible parents in Chris' memories, Paige was holding a grudge against them for partly the same reason, partly for the treatment they gave the half-Whitelighter since he traveled back in time, but Leo was not sure what was up with Phoebe until now. Whatever it was, he thought it would be more about Cole than the lack of her presence.

"That is ridiculous, Phoebe!" snapped the Elder all of a sudden. He knew the middle sister probably regretted many things she had said and done to Chris in the past months as well, but never in his wildest dreams would it occur to him that she would feel bad about her absence in those memories. He would give _**anything**_ to change places with her in that matter. "You are the best aunt a parent could wish for their child to have. Trust me on that." Even though Phoebe knew he really meant what he said, she couldn't help but wonder….

"But then… how come I was never there when Chris needed me? It was always only Paige and…." she took a deep breath, carefully keeping her tone steady. "And Cole."

Leo noticed her struggle just saying her ex-husband's name, so he decided to save that particular conversation for later and rather tried to soothe the Empath's conscience about her connection to her nephew.

"I know what you mean. It seems like they were the only people Chris could count on," he started and made an effort to raise his own spirit as well as he went on. "But hey, we won't let that future happen, okay?"

"Yeah, I know, it's just…."

"Look Phoebe," he interrupted, his voice suddenly stronger. "According to Chris' memories, I was the worst father anyone could imagine. I could hardly be called a father at all. But that person… it wasn't me." Phoebe watched in awe as Leo gathered the willpower she once saw in him, even in the most hopeless situations, but hadn't noticed for a while now. "I don't know what has gotten into my future self to act like that, but I will make sure that I will never get even _**close**_ to being that Leo."

Seeing the growing determination on his face, Phoebe was reminded why it has always been him she would go to for advice first. Smiling widely at the golden-haired child next to him, Leo continued speaking without meeting her gaze.

"Wherever your future self was at those times when Chris needed her doesn't matter Phoebe. The only thing that matters is that we cannot let us become those people in this timeline. We will just… have to make sure we will be there for him this time."

He took the bottle from Wyatt and placed a kiss on his forehead, but Phoebe could feel that it wasn't only meant for his oldest child. He might not have known that, but Leo's love was already genuine for both of his sons, and despite her mood that warmed Phoebe's heart a great deal.

"And of course we have to make Paige understand that the people she saw in those memories were not us."

'_If it was only as easy as he makes it sound to be.' _Finally she was unable to keep her thoughts unvoiced, though she knew it would break her brother-in-law's spirit as well.

"They were us for Chris."

"Yeah." As she predicted, Leo's smile faltered, but the determination never left his face. "He will be a lot harder nut to crack."

...

The Witchlighter noted the creature was surprisingly dull for being an upper level demon. His dark hair was hanging in mops stuck together by some smelly gunge, clothes dirty and ragged with holes and burns. Even Chris had a more passable appearance with his drenched top and muddy pants, but… well, in the demon's excuse, getting killed so many times is bound to leave its marks on you after a while now, isn't it?

"Just a few more minutes."

The demon glanced up nervously upon noticing that his newfound master has started to pace, obviously signaling his growing impatience. Clearing up the balance of forces between the two men in the cave wasn't as much fun as Chris hoped it would be, since the Lazarus became pretty submissive after seeing how easily overpowered he was by the 'boy'. Making harsh judgments on the looks of their opponents tend to be a common demonic slip when in battle.

"There we go," sighed the dark skinned demon after he finished gathering up the energy required for the task he was given. He extended his hands, and soon his skinny fingers with the long, cracked nails were hovering above the forming ball of brownish participles.

Resurrection. The act of bringing someone back to life after being confirmed dead. Only a few beings possess this rare and valuable ability, including Alchemists and Lazarus demons. Though, as far as the latter are concerned, they aren't so keen on letting the world know they could restore life to individuals other than themselves, too. Despite his extensive knowledge in demonology, not even Chris knew about this up until a few years ago, when they caught one of their kind in the action of resurrecting a low-level demon, probably fancying the idea of having him as a slave. Back in Chris' childhood it was Cole who told him about the issues they were having with a Lazarus demon on the day of the 'dark wedding', when they had to vanquish him several times before he finally stayed dead, buried in the cemetery where the wandering spirits wouldn't let him return to this reality. Well, up until now.

The 'Tale of the Dark Wedding', as Paige always referred to it, was Chris' favorite bedtime story when he was younger. He never really knew why, as none of Cole's stories differed in their amount of detail, the slightly creepy style, and none of them lacked realism either. Perhaps it was because the ex-Source didn't try to sell himself as a good guy back in that day when he clearly wasn't. Not that he would do so in his other stories, he just rarely talked about the times when he was supporting the darker side in the balance. Cole never actually changed the details only to fabricate fairytales, and he didn't try to portray the happenings so that his stories would become suitable for kids. He never tried to sell himself as the hero that saved the day in the end. Nearly all of his tales would have sounded pretty horror-like for any other children, yet the half-Whitelighter loved them to no end. He was never disturbed by his uncle's rambling when he appeared to be once again lost in details, and he didn't mind Cole's seemingly unnecessary descriptiveness. As a matter of fact, it even came quite handy while Chris was in search of a creature bearing reviving powers, not to mention finding its location.

The ground suddenly started to shake under the Witchlighter's legs, and he backed away from the demon in the center cautiously. Resurrection dealt with a great amount of power, and he had to be careful not to get too close during the process, otherwise he just might get caught in it, according to what Paige taught him back in his teenage years. There were dark particles reeling around the cave, creating a whirlwind that drew the air out of the young man's lungs for a short moment, and it took him a while to catch his breath after the ashes chose to reunite. They crushed into each other with so much force that it seemed they were going to explode, yet the procedure finished without a sound.

Chris planned to take out the Lazarus as soon as the revival was done, yet he found himself unable to move when he saw the gloomy figure rising from the dead. The recently reborn man stood up as if he was only getting up from a short nap, and despite being deceased for years he didn't look surprised at all. He raised his head slowly, studying his surrounding with ceaseless curiosity in his cold eyes, and Chris had to inhale deeply to clear his head and hopefully prevent his heart from racing. It didn't really work out.

Without warning or even looking at him the man hurled a fireball at the demon who just gave his life back and finally he decided to rest his gaze on the Whitelighter.

Chris was responsible for the restoration of not just one, but two demons that day. The first was already screaming in pain as the flames quickly consumed his body, but the other one took a completely different role in his plans. He would be of _**help**_. Moreover, he would be the _**only**_ one whose help Chris would currently accept. The Charmed Ones could do whatever they want from now on. Their Whitelighter already had the only person who could help him make a change. Chris straightened his shoulders to seem as confident as possible, still he had to swallow before uttering the words he had been repeating in his head eagerly for minutes now. He stepped closer and let a slightly nervous smile take over his features upon the familiarity with the man's expectant expression. The demon didn't even know what a comforting feeling he provided just by being there, but for the first time in 7 months, Chris felt like he wasn't alone anymore. For the first time he felt like smiling as he started to speak, forming words he had been waiting to say for a really long time.

"Welcome back, Mr. Turner."

...

_Hi there! Yeah, veeery long delay, but I had a really busy year in college, sorry about that. Still, I plan to go on with this story - in case there are people still interested... sooo, as much as I don't like this review game, I guess I will only update if I get a few of them, just to see you are still with me. I will have the time to write during the summer, so yeah, review just this once, thank you :)_

_Thanks to my beta for the help, Real Emma Gray ;)  
_


	10. Chapter 10

"Hi," Leo said, announcing his presence in the sunroom, but just by looking at him, Piper could tell he must have been standing at the door for quite a while trying to work up the courage to greet her. He always did that when he was unsure about her feelings, and even though they agreed on getting back together for their family's sake, neither really acted like they were a couple just yet.

Actually, Piper didn't act like the person Leo fell in love with at all. Not taking a break from her actions, she went on removing the dust from the furniture with the used cleaning rag, throwing only a half-hearted reply at her husband.

"Hi."

Knowing fully this conversation was going to be a tough one, Leo made his way to the playpen Wyatt was residing in and picked him up, holding onto him as if the little boy could provide a way to break the ice with his mother.

"Piper, we need to talk," he started off cautiously, not really knowing what kind of reaction to expect. Piper might have come out of her room a few days ago, realizing she couldn't ignore her duties as a mother any longer, but she did not come out of her depression yet. It's been two weeks since Chris left the Manor with the clear intention of not returning anytime soon, and the Halliwell matriarch just couldn't seem to find relief ever since then.

"Sure," came the jog-trot answer almost immediately, shrugging off the intense gaze of Leo's rather easily.

Knowing this was the best he would get, the Elder decided to go on, hoping something would catch Piper's attention along the conversation – which was a pretty rare occasion these days.

"The Elders feel a new force moving in the Underworld."

"Interesting," countered the witch, not missing a beat.

"This force kills demons, Piper," tried to reason the man, but already knew Piper was not going to show any interests in this particular conversation of theirs either.

"Like that's a first," she snorted sarcastically, obviously not planning on giving a second thought to the information Leo provided.

"They might gather the powers of their victims."

"Yeah, that is a possibility," she stated nonchalantly while raising her tone an octave higher to show off her irritation. Due to the lack of progress with his dear wife, the Elder decided to drop in the only subject Piper seemed to be interested in recently.

"I think this new force might be Chris."

Now, that was something worth Piper's attention. She froze for a minute, lowering the cleaning rag to the coffee table, and Leo suddenly wondered if he would regret bringing up this topic later. The brunette didn't move for what seemed to be like eternity, but just when the Elder decided to ask if she was okay, Piper turned and did something nobody saw her doing during this last period of time. She focused her attention on something different than her self-pity.

"What makes you think that?" she asked with growing curiosity, welcoming the idea of gathering new information about their missing son. Leo tried his best to conceal his disbelief, as an eager Piper was not a frequent sight lately, and he didn't want to ruin her changed mood.

"This new power has been on the move for two weeks. That's the same exact amount of time Chris had been… absent… And we obviously don't know the full extent of his powers, so…" added the last part the Elder sadly. It was true though, they had no idea of how powerful the future boy was, and since he already revealed himself as a part of their family, he had no actual reason to hold back any longer.

Piper seemed to be dwelling on what she had just heard, but before she could form a response the doorbell broke the silence with its edgy sound. Contemplating her options for a moment, the woman told Leo to take Wyatt to the kitchen, indicating they would carry on with their conversation there. Those silly Elder robes would be hard to explain for a guest after all.

She went for the door rather hurriedly, determined to get rid of the intruder quickly, as she had something way more important to deal with than chitchatting with whoever was standing in front of their house. At least, her worries about Leo's robes dissolved as soon as she opened the door, as the woman who stood outside was clothed rather strangely as well…

A tall, apparently Asian woman was eyeing the Halliwell witch, not much older than she herself was. The red Bindi on her forehead stood in great contrast with her ebony eyes, and her dress was just a bit too colorful compared to the usual San Francisco standards.

Before Piper could pop a question about what she was doing there or who she was searching for, the newcomer started talking enthusiastically, only to let the witch realize they were not sharing a language.

"I just blessed your family," the stranger smiled upon seeing Piper's confusion and handed her a flyer, but in that same moment a loud thump was audible from upstairs, followed by Phoebe's unusually intense swearing. Fearing a possible demon attack, Piper quickly thanked her for the leaflet and apologized to the woman, saying it wasn't the best of the times to drop by for a visit. Closing the door she rushed inside to see what was happening, and she arrived in the kitchen just in time to watch a heavily annoyed Phoebe enter. Seeing that Wyatt was safe in Leo's arms, she decided to focus her attention to her only sister who was currently on speaking terms with her.

"I fell!" Phoebe exclaimed with an irritated tone.

"Yeah, we've heard that," smiled Leo gently, making the little boy he was holding giggle at her aunt's clumsiness. The Empath had a lot on her plate lately as well, it was no wonder to the Elder she was a bit careless at times. She had a faltering relationship with a man whose offer to move a continent with him she just rejected, and dealing with Cole back in the picture must have been difficult too, to say the least. Even without her ex-husband being present yet, Phoebe was loaded with problems as it was.

"No, I mean I fell from mid-air!" went on the Empath. "I was meditating when my powers just decided they would stop working, and without a warning they just—"

"Wait, you lost your powers?" asked Leo, suddenly alarmed. Piper seemed to be interested as well, but truly, she was just waiting for her turn to question Leo further about Chris.

"Yes! One minute I was levitating, and a second later, nothing!" Phoebe added in a hurry. "I can't even use my empathy anymore."

Leo took Wyatt down to his high chair, being lost in his thoughts already. Losing the Power of Three was a serious issue, and it needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

"Piper, do you still have yours?"

Slightly absent-mindedly though, but the woman in question flicked her right hand in a lazy manner, targeting a Chinese vase on the counter. Only, the usual explosion failed to occur this time.

"Hey, that is _**my**_ vase by the way!" protested Phoebe at Piper's attempt to destroy her belonging, but her comment was lost on her now slightly stressed out sister.

"Well, that's strange," said the older woman with just a bit of uneasiness in her voice. If she had her way they would already discuss the matters about her younger child, but she was not feeling confident without her powers either. Knowing that fulfilling her Wiccan duties was a more pressing issue, she decided to take charge, showing the side of Piper Halliwell that was pretty much absent recently. After all, the sooner they figured out what was going on, the sooner she could hear what else her husband had to say about Chris.

"Phoebe, would you mind calling Paige, please?"

The middle Halliwell sister made an effort to hide her pained expression, knowing fully it was not the time to dwell on the broken relationship of her siblings. Paige continued to refuse to have any kind of communication with Piper, going as far as not even staying in the same room as her for more than a few minutes. Phoebe tried to talk some sense into her, she really did, but seeing that she was going nowhere eventually she gave up, knowing that Paige's tantrums were not going to last longer than a few weeks at the very most.

"Paige! We need you here!"

For long moments there was no answer. Leo suggested she must have lost her powers as well and was about to fetch her, when Phoebe made one more attempt to reach her sister.

"Paige, please, it's an emergency!"

Shiny blue orbs filled the air at the entrance of the kitchen before Paige materialized with an annoyed expression, which very much resembled Phoebe's just from a few minutes ago.

"I damn hope it's an emergency, I had to leave five dogs in the park with a seven year old—"

"We lost our powers," interrupted Piper, and despite her recent behavior Paige's expression softened at once.

"Now, that _**is**_ an emergency," she admitted, utterly surprised of how she could still orb when her sisters did not have their powers at the moment.

"Try to orb an object," hurried her Leo, obviously anxious about the fact that the Power of Three might be lost. The redhead stretched out her hand and quickly scanned the room for something movable. Her choice fell on the same vase that Piper tried to blow up a minute ago.

"Vase!" she called out loudly, but the expected orbs did not come. Surprised, she tried it a few more times, but after a while she had to admit defeat and gave up.

"That is still _**my**_vase by the way, not that anyone seems to _**mind**_."

"Oh, I'm sure we _**do**_ mind Phoebe, we just happen to find it _**ugly**_," came Paige's reply while wrinkling her nose upon the sight of the handicraft. The Empath had to admit that Jason's idea of 'esthetic ' was quite… well, let us say, misguided, but it was a gift nonetheless, and her siblings did not have the right to—

"Leo, go Up There and ask them if they know anything about this."

That was the sentence that distracted Phoebe from her thoughts, as seeing Piper in action shocked her just as much as it did the rest. Well, not that they had _**that**_ many demon attacks since Chris left actually…

"Okay," went on the oldest sister once her husband orbed out, "we need to check the Book for—"

Piper's instructions were interrupted by a quiet wrecking noise coming from upstairs. All the three strained their ears to identify its origins, and soon they recognized the familiar noise of the old, wooden staircase.

"Footsteps," whispered Phoebe, and all the women took a few steps back in the kitchen so they could not be seen by the person – or most likely, demon – who was taking the stairs. Piper immediately went to fetch Wyatt, and while Phoebe stood in front of her sister and nephew, Paige also took a fighting stance with Phoebe's vase in her hands, ready to strike the intruder.

"Hey, put that down!" whisper-shouted the Empath angrily, but was immediately shushed by Paige, hearing that the footsteps were coming closer and closer.

Piper did not like the situation one bit. She never imagined she would feel so useless if she ever lost her powers. Sure, she was depending on them for years now, but since Paige got her powers not as long ago as she did, the redhead still had the confidence to take on a demon without her magic. The eldest Halliwell was not sure if she would have the guts to do the same. Was she getting weaker by the day? Granted, Phoebe could always count on her skills in martial arts when it came to vanquishes, but still, why was suddenly Piper the one who needed to be protected? She was not familiar with the feeling of being rendered powerless, and she did not like the idea of using her sisters as a shield, but what other options did she have with her little boy in her hands now? And wait, why didn't Wyatt put his force field up? Did he lose his powers too?

"Chris?" breathed Paige when she finally caught a glance at the cautiously approaching figure. Piper's heart jumped to her throat upon hearing the name of her newfound son, and that certainly did not help to lower her previously built up adrenaline level. What was Chris doing there? Was he even there for real?  
Despite knowing better, hope slowly rose in Piper's heart, and even though the situation made no real sense to her, she found herself embracing the possibility of her son's return.

The young man stood awkwardly in the doorway as Paige lowered her poorly chosen weapon. Turning back painfully slowly Chris shivered under the gaze of the dumbfounded women, though he did not look any less surprised than they appeared to be. With his eyes wide open, shoulders tense and posture frozen in the middle of a movement, he actually resembled a child getting caught red-handed much more than the furious man he was when they last saw him.

"I was just…" he started off his explanation hurriedly, but figured that pointing to the ceiling would be enough of a clue of where he had been. Meeting the witches was definitely not something he was planning on, and it took him a few seconds to regain his composure. Why did he feel the need of self-explanation anyway? The Book of Shadows was part of his heritage, and even though they did not keep in touch, the sisters probably knew he was using it from time to time. He had done nothing wrong by looking up a few demos in it now, did he?

Thinking it further, why the hell would he have to explain himself to _**them**_? It's not like the anger he worked up towards his family dissolved the instance he spotted them, oh no. Two weeks was far too little time to get over their previous actions, and Chris was not ready to let go of the rage he felt. Or rather, the rage he _**wanted**_ to feel in that moment. Perhaps the shock of seeing them was just too great to let his emotions surface, but then again, he couldn't possibly believe he could leave the house through the door without getting caught now, could he?

…Which reminded him of a pretty serious concern of his own.

"I lost my powers," stated the Witchlighter bluntly. Why he was sharing this piece of information with the people who denied him not so long ago, he seriously had no idea. "I was planning to orb out, but… well…"

Okay, now he was even confused over his own behavior. The last time he imagined his next meeting with the Halliwells – which was a fairly frequent thought of his – he pictured himself lashing out at them, shouting all the hurtful things he can gather up just to make them feel the way _**he**_ felt because of them. Though it was a cruel thing to envision, in these past few days Chris wanted nothing more than to see the remorseful faces of the Charmed Ones, to ignore their begging for his forgiveness, to hurt them the same exact way they hurt him…

And yet there he was, at a complete loss of words despite of having so, so much to say.

Being the first to snap out of the shock from her nephew's sudden appearance, Paige was already focusing on keeping the yet pretty much nonexistent conversation going, hoping it would keep Chris busy enough to stay at least for a few minutes. It was a small goal really, but it would be still more contact than what they have had so far, thus taking the first step of rebuilding their relationships.

"We lost our powers too," she informed him eagerly, with a slight smile present in the corner of her mouth. "Something must have happened that affected the magic of the whole family," she went on now almost beaming, as if losing their powers was the most delightful happening in the world.

And truth to be told, it just might have been, since it managed to get Christopher back to them. The redhead was more than delighted indeed; she'd have given anything to see her nephew. She was desperately trying to get in touch with him for these two weeks, and it took Phoebe a great deal effort to persuade her into letting Chris have some space for the time being. But now that he was back, the whole world might have ended for all Paige cared, not even _**that**_ would clear the contentment from her expression. She would have announced practically anything with that stupid smile on her face, regardless of how distressing it might be.

As much as Chris hated to admit, Paige was probably right. Whatever happened must have affected the powers of the whole Halliwell line, meaning he could not get to the bottom of this case without the Charmed Ones' help. Still, as he watched his supposed to be Mom move slightly towards the door so she could see him clearly, he just wasn't sure if he could stay and bear the intensively studying gaze of the woman.

Piper was not sure if she could believe her own eyes. Her boy was standing in front of her, safe and unharmed, though a little bit thinner than what she would have preferred. She didn't really pay attention to the conversation that was going on between him and her sister; she was busy with trying not to drop Wyatt, as her hands were shaking uncontrollably. What should she do now? Should she greet him and tell him how much she missed him? Or was that a bad idea? How would he react? Should she even talk to him at all? God, there were so many things she wanted to say, and even more she wanted to ask. Where has he been up until now? What was he doing? Was he taken care of? Was he eating properly? Where was he staying? And what was he…

Really, what was he _**doing**_?

The actions of the Witchlighter were too sudden, too fast and seemingly too random for Piper to follow. One moment he was standing in the doorway, saying something about their powers, and the next thing she knew, he was knocking Paige off her feet, making his way to the kitchen while effectively shoving her other sister out of his way too. His motions were too quick to leave time for any questions, and before Piper knew it, Chris was standing next to the kitchen counter, taking out a knife of the wooden block, and throwing it in the direction of the hallway. Following the path of the sharp metal object slitting the air smoothly, Piper didn't quite get why it was aimed at something shiny in the hallway when she first spotted the target. Only when the orbs died down she realized that she was staring at four people materializing in her house, one of them already on his knees, clutching the knife that hit him precisely in the center of his chest.

Darklighters.

Having some serious trouble catching up, the witch didn't even notice when Chris threw the second knife, and it took her to hear Paige's shouting to back away with her first-born from the scene she was witnessing. Piper looked at the four dumbfound men in the hallway again; the wounded one was already erupting in flames, the second just dropped his crossbow as he was hit with a cleaver in the stomach, and the other two were busy dodging the rest of the knives her son directed at them rapidly – and with flawless precision nonetheless.

Even though the Darklighters were counting on the element of surprise being on their side, no matter how shocked they seemed to be by losing the upper hand in an instant, Piper was heavily panicking despite only having two of them survive Chris's initial attack.

And she had all the right reasons to panic, since those two remaining creatures holding onto their crossbows posed a deadly threat to her youngest sister who was just getting back on her feet, to her son, whom she did the best to protect with her body, and to her…

Actually, to _**both**_ her sons.

Much to her fright, her younger child was on the move once again, way before she could utter her worries about his safety. Seeing that the intruders were gaining back their composures after Chris run out of blades, she reached out with one hand, desperate to blow the Darklighters up before they could harm her son, who apparently didn't show any signs of the intention of retreat. Chris was making his way through the kitchen smoothly, grabbing every possible object he could throw: plates, forks that were left out on the table after breakfast, the mugs that were waiting for to be washed since the morning. He was throwing everything at the intruders that lied in his path, barely sparing a glance to the Darklighters. Piper flicked her hand reflexively, determined to bring Chris' seemingly mindless rampage to a halt, but when the realization of being powerless hit her again, she also had to realize that her son's actions were not nearly as mindless as they appeared to be…

Phoebe did not move an inch since Chris shove her a few steps back from the doorway. She was paying close attention to the conversation Paige and her nephew were having before the Darklighters orbed in, and therefore her reaction to the attack would have been quicker than Piper's, if Chris had not been the first to notice the black orbs forming behind his back. The moment he knocked Paige off her feet, Phoebe was already well aware what the young man was reacting to so fiercely, but before she could even think of a way of escape, two of the men were already vanquished – all thanks to Chris. When the Empath saw the boy throwing different kind of things at the Darklighters, she was already aware that it did not serve as a desperate attempt to get rid of them at all. Her nephew was effectively avoiding them using their crossbow, as none of the mentioned objects actually missed their targets, no matter how carelessly they seemed to be thrown at them. Chris was obviously moving out of instinct rather than fear, making him impossibly quicker than any of the opponents she has encountered during her battles as a witch. Watching the future boy's well-practiced movements Phoebe was reminded of the times when she was unable to follow Cole's attacks at first while he was teaching her to fight…

The Empath, knowing that she could not provide any help from this distance, stepped aside rather tactfully, allowing Chris to keep the men busy while she taught of a way for them to run off, as no matter how distracted the Darklighters were at the moment, they still couldn't possibly beat them without any active powers.

Despite wanting to bail out all her family members with Whitelighter blood, Phoebe seriously doubted Chris could be persuaded just to flee from the battle, and seeing that he could obviously take care of himself, she concentrated on finding an escape route for Paige and Wyatt. _'If we can get them to the sunroom, perhaps we have a chance to —'_

"That's enough you little shit!" screamed one of the Darklighters as he tossed away a plate that was thrown at him, and raised the crossbow in his hand, clearly being fed up with the constant assaults they were receiving. He had no idea how was it possible for the witches to be so prepared for their arrival, but he was having no more of their Whitelighter's stupid child's tantrum…

Paige was quietly observing the scene that evolved in front of her eyes, not really finding a suitable option to help Chris either. She saw Phoebe contemplating something heavily, giving their nephew the freedom of doing whatever he had on his mind, and the redhead hoped that whatever her sister's plan may be, it would work perfectly after giving it so much thought. Glancing back at her older sister she saw her trying to blow the intruders up in vain, while all the way protecting Wyatt from any possible arrows that were threatening to be released in their direction. After Piper's expression slowly changed from terror to something Paige would any other time identify as awe, she directed her gaze at the only person who was actually doing something to save them, and she instantly understood the reason of her sister's astonishment.

When Chris noticed the change in the Darklighter's surprised and initially passive attitude, he reached to the table on which no other items were left except for Wyatt's color pencils that Piper forgot to take back to his box of toys after her son's usual coloring session in the morning. The redhead stood confused over Chris' actions, not really understanding his motive until he hurled a pencil straight at the Darklighter. He did not throw it in the same careless manner he was throwing the plates not a seconds ago. He was throwing it sharply, precisely, and with much more force, just as if he was throwing a very heavy knife. The pencil was still in the air when Chris was already running towards the men, having absolutely no doubt about it hitting his desired target. When it finally touched the throat of the first Darklighter, he was already knocking the second one unconscious with his own crossbow.

The fatally injured man dropped to the floor, grabbed the pencil sticking out of his gorge in an attempt to remove it, but the terror in his widely opened eyes said that he knew his fate was already decided. Gathering his remaining energy he tried to utter his final thoughts, but both his words and his screams died on his gaping mouth as his body was starting to flare up.

And just like that, mere seconds after the four men orbed into the Manor, there was all-consuming silence between the Charmed Ones and their Whitelighter once again.

…

As much as Piper wanted to leave the attic and the screaming man behind, she couldn't move from the room. She was not allowed to.

After putting the only remaining survivor of Chris' previous attack into a crystal cage, Paige instantly started to question him, urging Piper to call Leo and let him take Wyatt Up There with him – both for his safety, and for the reason of Piper not wanting him to hear the painful screams the Darklighter was letting out during the interrogation. Leo was shell-shocked to find Chris standing above the Book of Shadows, but after several failed attempts to make him even acknowledge that his father was in the room, the Elder was convinced that the best he could do was to watch Wyatt for the time being.

"_**Fine, I'll leave. But Chris… I want you to know that I am so—"**_

"_**Don't bother, Leo," the boy cut him off without sparing a glance at him, "just take Wyatt with you."**_

Hurt by his son's words Leo orbed out of the house, knowing well he was probably the last person Chris wanted to see right then. Building up a relationship between the two men will definitely be more thought than what the Elder first presumed.

Apparently, Paige was the only person who was not shocked enough by Chris' presence to get any work done, so she grabbed a crystal and tried her best to extract information out of their newly acquired hostage. The Darklighter however, was not so keen on sharing, thus the torture that was going on for long minutes now, was yet to lead them anywhere.

Piper was sitting on the couch, watching intently as her son flipped through the pages of the Book, looking for clues of what could have taken their powers away. At some point she felt like she should start a conversation with him, but that thought was quickly chased away by the memory of the evasive and insensitive manner in which Chris dismissed Leo minutes ago. Not that she didn't understand his reasons, but she was not sure she could shrug it off as easily as her husband did. So, she was just sitting there, wishing she would know what she could do or say that would make her son open up to her a bit…

The middle Charmed One was also eyeing the man who was looking over entries of demons and warlocks, but unlike Piper, she did not see a boy before her eyes anymore. She saw a man.

The attack of the Darklighters took him by surprise as much as it did the witches, yet the soldier-like manner he took care of the situation was unlike anything Phoebe had seen him do before. Heck, she didn't even know he could fight, and the fact that he had such impressive combat skills that the three women – despite all their experience in demon battles – did not even have time to bat their eyelashes when Chris was already finished with the intruders, had left the Empath with a very, very bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Has he always been such a skilled fighter, and only left them do the vanquishes to keep his cover up? Phoebe could easily recognize a fighter if she saw one; they always had a more guarded stance, more tense shoulders, a more perceptive view of their surroundings than normal people did. How come she never saw these qualities in her nephew? Was it because up until now, he wasn't her nephew? Did they really pay only so much attention to Chris when they thought of him merely as their Whitelighter? The idea of this being true was upsetting enough, but when Phoebe had to think about what a cruel world Chris must have come from to acquire such skills… She did not even want to know where, when, or why he learnt to fight like this. Even now, after being attacked and losing his powers, Chris was the only one of them still acting as self-assured as before.

Piper was slightly shaking, though Phoebe was not sure if it was merely due to the fact of losing their magic, or if it had to do something with Chris being present as well… but she was obviously not nearly as confident as she would be in just a regular case of an attack. Even Paige, who has always been the boldest out of the sisters, was more careful with the crystals, always taking a few steps back from the Darklighter when asking him a question. And the Empath had to admit, that she herself was not in her top form either. Darklighters were trained assassins, and she was obviously fearing that more of them would turn up… and due to this, no matter how normally she tried to act, she still jumped upon the sound of the wind closing a window downstairs.

Chris, however, did not seem to be disturbed by such trivial things. He didn't flinch upon the vicious screams of the Darklighter, nor did he seem to be disturbed by the idea of another possible attack. And after what Phoebe just witnessed, what did he have to fear, really? He took out four Darklighters single-handedly, like, in a blink of an eye. Phoebe would have needed more time to form a sentence. So, unless there was an army coming after them, was there even any creature Chris would not be able to defeat even without powers? His self-assured appearance suggested not, and as comforting as that thought was, it was at least as frightening for the Empath…

"One last chance, buddy," said the redhead while approaching the Darklighter again. "This time I'm not gonna back up if you don't start speaking right now," she finished in a child-like voice, but her tone still suggested she was not playing games.

"You may as well kill me witch, I'm not telling you a thing!" exhaled the tired man, breathing heavily from the excessive pain he was experiencing under Paige's treatment. The woman in question let out an frustrated groan, knowing that if torture gave them no results, there was probably no other way to get the required information out from the evil creature. Unsure of what to do she turned to her sisters for help, but found Piper staring at Chris in a paralysis-like state, and Phoebe eyeing the same person, deep in her thoughts, with an analytical look on her face.

"Drop his blood on the crystal."

Much to Paige's disbelief, the strange suggestion came from no one other than Chris.

"Why?" she asked, but regretted her question as soon as it left her mouth. Chris seemed to be irritated with the situation as it was, and though he made no comments on it yet, it was clear that his irritation originated more to his family's presence rather than to the lack of progress they made.

Chris let out an exasperated sigh, not bothering to hide his exhaustion with the women. Paige, knowing it better than to question again, turned back to her prey, and for her surprise, she found more than just a trace of emotion on the face of the man. Now, regardless his prior attitude, the Darklighter was utterly terrified.

"Don't even dream about it," said the weary man, but no matter how hard he tried to keep his tone hard and steady, the sentence still came out more as a plea rather than a threat. Although Paige did not know what was so scary about a crystal with some blood on it to the man, she assumed he already knew this form of torture from first-hand, and hoping he would go relatively far to avoid experiencing it again, she headed to the nearby shelves, fetched an athame and held it out threateningly.

"No, please, I will talk, I will talk alright!"

Now, according to Paige that sounded way better than the curses he was spitting at her moments ago. She couldn't believe they had gotten to this point so easily after her preceding efforts. Just how many cards like this did her nephew had up his sleeve?

"Who sent you?"

"What makes you think we were hired?" countered the Darklighter with a cocky smile, which was cleared off his face as soon as Paige neared him with the athame in her raised hand. "Okay, okay, I'll tell!" retreated the man immediately, "It was a warlock. Name's Myra or something…"

Paige took one step towards the cage again.

"…Mayra! Her name's Mayra!"

"Why did she attack us?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Yet another step towards the man.

"Fine! She wanted the Twice-Blessed gone! We were supposed to kill him only, not to harm any of you witches."

At that sentence Chris stopped searching for the warlock named Mayra, and upon mentioning her son, even Piper started to get interested in the ongoing conversation.

"Remind me to thank her for her generosity later," came the sarcastic remark from Paige. "Now, why was dear Mayra in the mood of sparing our lives again?" she prompted, quite puzzled about why a warlock would pass on the chance of getting rid of the Charmed Ones.

"I don't know that. NO, I mean, I seriously don't know! She said something about how the Charmed Ones are needed in the balance or some shit!"

The Darklighter was still visibly petrified of having his blood dropped on the crystal, and since his statement about not knowing more about the topic seemed fairly honest, Paige decided to let the topic go.

"How did she take our powers?"

"She…" the Darklighter paused for a moment, unsure if he should provide the witches _**this**_ particular piece of information, but seeing the athame still in Paige's hand had his worries dissolving at once. "She did not take them. She just… cast a spell so you could not use them near each other."

Well, that actually explained why Paige could still orb into the Manor while her sisters have long lost their magic earlier.

"So, basically, if we break the spell we get our powers back?"

"All you have to do is kill her," the Darklighter confirmed.

"Sounds pretty easy," stated Phoebe, but was immediately discouraged by Chris, who has resumed his search in the Book.

"Far too easy," he said while turning the pages. "Darklighters are not bounty hunters. What did she promise you for your services?"

The Darklighter considered the question, and came up with an answer too quickly for Chris' liking.

"Immortality."

The obvious lie escaped the Charmed Ones, only the youngest Halliwell picked up on it as soon as it was told. Yet, having found the entry concerning the warlock Mayra, Chris decided there was no need to question the Darklighter further.

"Mayra is a warlock of lower ranking, though possessing a rare ability among demons: she can extend one's lifespan of as much as a few hundred years, making those, who seek her out every few centuries, practically immortal," Chris recited. "Not having any offensive powers she is pursued by many, and is willing to offer her services to whomever that manages to find her locations. That is the tricky part though; along the years Mayra has mastered the ruses of hiding from unwanted attention, and it takes one great efforts to track her down."

"I can show you where her lair is," offered the trapped Darklighter immediately, more than just fancying the idea of getting away from the hands of the crazy redhead and her family. Chris sensed the ulterior motive behind the offer, but seeing no other options and wanting his powers back as soon as possible, he approached the crystal cage and spoke to the Darklighter in a threatening manner.

"One trick, and you finish as your friends did."

Even though the trapped man had serious plans of getting away as soon as he was released from the cage, the memory of how that boy killed three of his comrades – one with a fucking pencil nonetheless – was still fresh in his mind, and it instantly cleared the smile that was forming on his features just before Chris spoke up.

Piper finally gathered her courage to take a part in the vanquish, and made her way to the cage as well, followed by Phoebe, signaling that wherever the Darklighter would take them, they were going to go together.

"You're not coming," stated Chris in the calmest voice the sisters ever heard from him.

Though Piper's fears of being ambushed in a demonic lair did not die down one bit, she was most definitely not letting her son go down there alone. What was he even thinking? Was he trying to get killed on purpose?

"Of course we're going," she retorted in a rather deep, quiet tone that she usually used when she wanted to leave no place for arguments. Even though Chris knew that tone of hers all too well, it did not seem to affect him.

"I might need my powers to vanquish her, and I apparently can't use them if you're nearby."

"I won't let you go there alone Chris, you might—"

"I can take care of myself."

"But what if he tricks you, what if you get hurt and we won't have a clue where you are!" burst out Piper, dreading the possibility of losing the son she just recently found out about.

"I'm going alone," said Chris once again, though he was obviously having difficulties with containing his temper.

"No, you're not! For all we know this might be trap, you might get—"

"You haven't chewed on that idea for long at the times I went to the Underworld to investigate alone now, did you?"

The silence that engulfed the attic seemed to become a traditional occurrence in the Charmed Ones' lives, at least whenever Chris was involved. His momentarily forgotten anger upon meeting the sisters apparently returned, and all his visions about seeing the hurt expression on the women's faces became reality with one single sentence of his. Although, he might have been satisfied with the impact his words had on his family, the man could still feel the familiar feeling of guilt sneaking up on him, and it only got worse by the second as he watched the tears gather in his mother's eyes…

'_Piper! She's Piper, not your mother!'_the Witchlighter tried to justify his actions, but it looked like no matter which timeline he was in, he just could not stand the sight of a crying Piper.

"Chris, please, be reasonable," tried Paige upon sensing an opening in Chris' emotionless mask, "he might have easily lied about our powers. What's going to happen if you do not get them back once you orb there with him? You are going to be—"

"Perfectly capable of finding my way out, which would not nearly be as easy if I had to look out for you as well."

"We can look out for ourselves, we just want to help!" reasoned Phoebe when she finally found her voice. "Perhaps we should call Leo and—"

"Absolutely not!" blurted out the young man once he lost his temper, "Leo is not needed here, and I am going alone, period!"

"But we…"

"I did not come here for your help Phoebe, I merely happened to be in the attic when this Mayra cast the spell!" Chris went on while he kicked one of the crystals that formed the cage around the Darklighter. "I did not come here to listen to how dangerous it is to go to the Underworld alone, I am very well aware of that fact without you giving me a lecture on it…" He proceeded to grab the man by his upper arm, dragging him up from the ground while holding him firmly in place. "I did not come here to _**see**_ you."

And with a last command for the Darklighter to orb, Christopher Perry Halliwell had left the Manor once again, leaving the Charmed Ones wonder if he would ever return to them by his own, free will.

…

_Soooo, update. I have not given up on this story yet ;) Another update coming soon, almost finished with the next chapter. Also, I know, this story is lacking Cole, isn't it? :D Well, not for much longer…_

_Many, many thanks to cheerpup1392 for betaing! :)_

_So, enjoy reading and tell me what you think. :)_


	11. Chapter 11

"The Elders know nothing about Mayra's whereabouts."

"Yeah, these are like, really shocking news Leo," grunted the red-headed witch in frustration, ignoring the disapproving looks her brother-in-law sent her. "Seriously, when was the last time they actually had something useful to provide when we needed a push? I'm starting to wonder what do we even keep them for…"

"We don't _**keep**_ them Paige, and believe me, they try their very best to help us all the time," corrected Leo in a gentle tone, though not daring to refer to himself as one of the mentioned Elders in front of his wife. They had already talked through what his promotion meant for him and his family, but Piper was still not content with the possibility of her husband being forced to spend his days Up There in case his 'colleagues' decided to go against their relationship – again.

Anyways, Piper's mind was too busy with a more pressing issue than her sister's comments, who was still expressing her opinion about the obvious futility of the Elders' information. The oldest Charmed One was at a complete loss for words when Chris orbed out on them with the Darklighter, but her spirit somewhat returning after seeing her son. Her initial anxiety quickly turned into anger, and for the first time that day she was seriously glad her powers were not working at the moment. Cleaning the attic would be one hell of a job if her magic went haywire due to her rage.

She tried to be reasonable with Chris. She really did. She did not bug him for these last two weeks, despite nearly dying from the need to apologize to him and make him realize how much she missed him. She did not try to smother him with questions and small acts of all the motherly love she had for him, understanding it was just too early for that. Piper gave him time to cool off, and she even admitted that she did so not merely because of the fact that it was probably the right thing to do, but also because she had not a single clue about how to approach her child again. She admitted her fault, and she regretted it so greatly it was a miracle she had enough energy left to go on with her life besides sinking in deeper and deeper in her sense of guilt with each passing day.

But she had not asked for Chris' _**forgiveness**_ before he left, no. She was merely asking for him not to put his life in danger.

Obviously, the Witchlighter refused her wish, and that made the Charmed One downright furious. It was one thing to hate her for what she had said and done to him, but just what, for heaven's sake, had given him the right to put his life on the line so defiantly? Was he doing that for the sole purpose of making her suffer from the thoughts of what horrors could happen to him down there? Did he try to torture her so forwardly? No. This was no torture. Saying hurtful things like he did earlier, throwing the painful truth back in her face… _**That**_ was torture. But going to the Underworld without powers? With a freaking Darklighter nonetheless – a creature who was bred to kill his kind? That was way, way beyond torture in Piper's dictionary. She long accepted the fact she'd be punished for how she treated her son, but the concept of losing him as an actual punishment was just past her limits.

Chris hating her… that she could do with. Barely, but she would rather manage that if it came with his safety. Chris dying on her however…

Dear God, no.

"Piper, the Book is not going to help this time," the Empath addressed her after seeing her sister going panicky by re-reading the entry over and over again. Phoebe was right, there was nothing new written on the page, no matter how many times she looked over the curvy letters. Nothing that would help them find Mayra.

The crossbow lay on the table next to the huge map Phoebe was using for scrying. Minutes ago, it hit the sisters as a painful revelation that they did not have anything they could use to scry for Chris; the young man has left none of his belongings around the Manor, and he packed up his stuff in the back room of P3 too when he left. Where he was staying these days was a mystery to the Halliwells, and after trying all the summoning spells in the Book, they had to realize Chris was not going to make it any easier for them to find him.

But they could not give up. They _**would**_ not. Despite having no results of their search for the Darklighter yet, both the sisters and Leo were fueled, throwing in new ideas about how to approach the problem. Still, no matter how eager they all were, hope would only get them so far, and Piper could already sense that terrifying, dreadful feeling in her gut…

"What if we're going about this whole thing the wrong way? What if we should search for Mayra?" brainstormed the youngest sister, but was immediately cut by Phoebe, who was still hovering the crystal above the map.

"We have nothing to scry for her with, Paige," answered Phoebe.

The redhead seemed to contemplate the reasoning, and decided to try and put things into a perspective they had not considered before.

"When did she cast the spell exactly? How did you even figure out your powers were gone?" she went on with her questioning, but despite working together on this case the ideas were thrown more in the direction of Phoebe rather than Leo and Piper.

"I was meditating and fell from mid-air," informed the Empath, "so, assuming she cast the spell in that very moment, it happened just a few minutes before I called you."

Leo had already changed his clothes a few minutes ago, realizing he would more than likely stay with his family for a while. Running out of helpful ideas quickly, the Elder concentrated on the redhead's suggestions, hoping they would eventually lead them somewhere without being blocked by any walls.

"I was in the park with the—oh shit, the dogs!" cried out Paige when she realized she left her duties of her current job as a dog walker to a child, who must not have been more than a second grader in primary school. Of course losing her job – which would probably occur in the very near future – was not making her abandon her nephew, but it took her a second to get back to the original train of thoughts she was following on the topic. "Damn, that is just so like me," she added before returning to her previous point.

"So, I was in the park walking the dogs…" Paige informed the rest, not really knowing yet where she was going with her little investigation. "I don't remember feeling anyhow different when—"

"I do."

Piper's statement surprised the rest, and though Paige was keen on excluding her from their preceding conversation, now even the youngest witch welcomed the information her sister had to provide – if it would get them one step closer to Chris.

Piper however, decided against speaking, and despite their agreement of staying together she rushed out of the room, pointing with her index to signal she would be right back.

"I swear to God I go fury-mode if she starts cleaning downstairs…"

"Relax Paige, she probably just remembered something important regarding the spell," soothed her sister Phoebe, dropping the scrying crystal since it was not willing to give them the desired location.

"Don't get me wrong Phoebe," started off Leo upon noticing how her sister-in-law managed to keep her cools since he orbed into the attic, "but you don't really seem to be stressing over Chris' disappearance." The Elder did not mean any offense by his comment, but it didn't escape him how Phoebe was the least nervous out of the four of them.

"You know, I actually think Chris might be doing just fine…" she responded simply, but she instantly began her explanation upon seeing Leo's features change to confusion mixed shock. "No, don't get me wrong, I'm all for going after him, believe me, I want to have him back safe just as much as you do, but… you haven't seen what he'd done to those Darklighters, Leo," she went on, and although her point was not yet clear for the Elder, Paige already had her guesses about where her sister was going with her monologue. "It was like, as if…" she trailed off for a moment in the search for the right expression, "as if he was some sort of… well-trained soldier who got caught in fire at the front line. He was reacting to the whole attack scarily quickly and… and I just don't think that a person who is capable of killing someone with a _**pencil**_ would have much to fear when facing a warlock without active powers."

Paige did not give much thought to where her nephew's fighter-like behavior came from previously, but she remembered well the conversation she had with him months ago in this same room, upon catching him at night while he was flipping through the pages of the Book of Shadows.

"_**I'm starting to think you're simply incapable of grasping the concept of rest," she teased the man while making her way toward the pedestal, handing him a cup of coffee she made. "I sensed your orbs when you arrived," she clarified when Chris' confusion became apparent.**_

_**Thanking her for the warm liquid he took a sip of the coffee with a grateful look, as he hardly had time to stop for a drink that day yet.**_

"_**Your Whitelighter powers are getting stronger," he commented on Paige's already kicking in sensing ability with an admiring smile. "At this rate you should learn how to heal in no time."**_

"_**What time is no time exactly?"**_

"_**I wouldn't know," smiled Chris on his charge's attempt to gather information about the future. She knew there was no way to trespass 'future consequences' with him, but it was fun to try his patience at times nonetheless.**_

"_**Do you have a family?"**_

_**The question seemingly caught the Whitelighter off guard, but after a second he was ready with his usual answer which Paige read from his face before he could even voice it.**_

"_**Come on Chris, I'm not exactly asking for next week's lottery numbers here."**_

_**The boy hesitated with his answer this time, but the redhead's kind smile convinced him of her genuine concern, and he decided to give her a reply that would throw her off his tail, and still, was more truthful than any of the information about himself he shared with the Halliwells so far.**_

"_**Not anymore."**_

_**Although making Paige's easy going mood disappear was not his intention at all, Chris was still forced to watch his unbeknown aunt's smile falter, and a regretful, sad expression taking over her soft features.**_

"_**Don't give it too much thought, Paige," he tried to lighten the effect of his previous words immediately, not liking to see the witch so disheartened. "We all live in a war-zone in the future. It's just… consequential."**_

Living in a war-zone. Perhaps that was the phrase Paige remembered and that caused the redhead to be less stunned upon discovering Chris' fighting abilities than her sisters were. Still, it was a damn sad thing to know just what circumstances had beaten her way-too-young-for-war nephew into acquiring said skills…

The youngest sister watched as Leo's features formed a disgusted expression after hearing out Phoebe's explanation, and in a moment, she was ready to tear her brother-in-law to very, very tiny pieces. Chris had just saved their lives, and Leo, who should be acting like a grateful parent for having such a selfless son, dared to show disgust towards the boy? After all that the Elder had pulled?  
No, he had no right to judge her nephew's methods, Paige decided. None. He was no real father to the boy, neither according to Chris' memories, nor was he acting like it right now. She would tolerate his presence because of Phoebe's begging, but enough is enough…

"He didn't fight back…" started off Leo before Paige could reach him and begin her rampage. "When I dragged him back to Valhalla… he didn't even try to defend himself."

The quite submission stopped Paige in her tracks, realizing that Leo may not have directed that disgust on his face towards Chris after all. Looking at the man, who was visibly tearing up inside upon the memory, the Charmed One picked up on the self-hatred Leo felt because of his actions, and after two long weeks, the witch finally felt content with his behavior. She didn't talk much to him, or to Piper recently, the anger she felt towards them after they invaded Chris' mind was just too great to play nice with them. Yet, her oldest sister at least _**acted**_ like she was sorry for her actions, while Leo was only walking around the house as if nothing has actually happened. Piper's depression was obvious from the start, but this was the first time Paige has seen Leo showing any repentance, and she couldn't say she was not glad to see it. He could very well do with some remorse after he practically beat his own son up.

"Here, scry with this," rushed back into the attic a now frantic Piper, handing some kind of flyer to the middle sister. "I got it from a woman who popped up in front of the Manor when I heard you fall," she added when she saw Phoebe's confusion. "She said something in a foreign language, I didn't quite catch that… but might have very well been a spell," Piper provided a little unwillingly, not really proud that she had overlooked something that might have held so much importance. Phoebe took a deep breath and did not comment on her sister's carelessness, but when Piper raised her head shamefully, she found herself pierced through by the intense gaze of Paige. The Empath saw her disbelief and went back to hover the crystal above the map, readying herself for the battle that would surely follow suit between her sisters.

"And just when exactly did you plan to tell us about this?"

'_And there they go…'_ she thought bitterly when hearing Paige's prompt.

"I did not think it was—"

"It was what? Important?" countered the redhead before Piper could finish her sentence, and she saw her older sister letting out a defeated breath, acknowledging her fault.

Piper did not think the Asian woman would be of any importance to them indeed. She was so caught up about the news her husband brought when she opened the door, and… then Chris was suddenly there, and she did not know what to do with him… Everything just happened so quickly that the witch was starting to wonder how a mere hour could feel like days. Her mind was preoccupied with her son from the moment Leo mentioned his name, and well, she was unable to get him out of her thoughts up until Paige started to babble about what she was doing before the attack.

"Paige, please," the Elder went on his wife's defense immediately, but he was in no position to reason with the redhead.

"Is there anything else you'd like to share with us Piper? I don't know, perhaps, the warlock's location she herself told you about earlier?"

"Paige," tried Leo again now with a bit more force, but the witch was apparently having none of his let's-solve-the-problem-in-a-peaceful-way methods.

"Or, how about the recipe of the potion that can—"

"I found her," the Empath interrupted Paige's rambling, though she seemed to be just as surprised by her statement as the rest was.

"Just… like this?" asked the redhead incredulously, forgetting about her sister's mistake at once. Helping Chris was more a more significant entry on her to-do list right now, and she couldn't leave her doubts about the newly discovered location's correctness unvoiced. The entry in the Book concerning Mayra said she was not an easy prey to find, so why would she let her guard down in front of the Charmed Ones? Maybe the woman who gave Piper that leaflet was indeed just a random woman, who was… well, handing out religious leaflets?

"This is sooo obviously a trap," Phoebe raised her eyebrows in concern.

"Either that, or the woman Piper met is just not Mayra," countered Leo, but he was obviously hoping for his words to hold no truth. Him being right would mean they still didn't have anything to go on, and Chris had left almost half an hour ago…

"I'm going to check it out," said the redhead defiantly while turning on her heels and making her way to the shelves on which they kept the vanquishing potions. They always had a few prepared for emergencies, but considering how Piper had been compensating her mother-son issues with cleaning and making potions recently, there was a rather wide range of them set next to each other.

"I'm going too," hurried Piper after her sister, and mimicking her movements she grabbed some of the vials herself, sinking them to the pocket of her jeans. Paige was apparently less than impressed, but did not say a word of objection this time. She might have issues with her sister, but they were still a team when it came down to rescuing a family member, weren't they?

Leo took a quick glance at the map; the scrying crystal was stubbornly sticking to the point where Mayra's lair was supposed to be. The Elder had the urge to just orb there without taking any precautions, grabbing Chris by the shoulder and taking him to safety, but as tempting as it was, he knew it was a bad idea. The sisters appeared to be determined, but he used to be their Whitelighter… he could not just let them go there, not without their powers, not without knowing what was awaiting them…

"I think we should—"

"No Leo, don't even start with that. Just orb us already," commanded Piper, with her voice full of authority. She was not wasting any more time listening to how dangerous it was just to orb into the Underworld; she did not care. Chris' life was at stake. They were the Charmed Ones, they would think of something, improvise, like they always did when having no time to come up with a plan.

"I'm with Piper on this one," said Phoebe quietly when catching the hopeful eyes of the Elder, obviously expecting support at least from one of the girls. When he heard the impatient growl of Paige, Leo realized there was no reasoning with the witches this time. Reluctantly offering one hand to his wife and the other to Phoebe they all held onto each other, and with a dreadful feeling Leo and the Charmed Ones left the attic in a swirl of bright blue orbs.

"I was expecting you sooner," Piper heard the familiar voice once they rematerialized in a well-lit cave, which was surprisingly similar to a normally furnished apartment on the surface. The walls were not smoothed, but apart from the torches that provided the light, nothing screamed 'demon lair' about the place like it usually did. The owner was obviously neater than your average demon, and when Piper noticed her behind a large wooden desk, she instantly reached into her pocket for a vial. The woman who rang their doorbell earlier _**was**_ Mayra, and accordingly, this _**must**_ have been a trap.

"There is going to be no need for that, Piper," smiled the warlock at the Charmed Ones, "I have no powers to use on you. I believe you already gathered that much."

Paige and Phoebe were utterly confused at the greeting they got. Not only were there no Darklighters or other creatures to ambush them, but a warlock also tried to make a peaceful talk with them? That's definitely not the picture they were accustomed to when dealing with demons.

"Where is Chris?"

The Charmed Ones shared Leo's concern, as the boy was nowhere to be seen either. Something was terribly wrong here…

"Chris? The man from the future?" asked the Asian woman with a slight amusement in her voice, her welcoming beam never leaving her face. "I don't believe I ever met him in person."

Piper did not bother asking how she knew their names, or the fact that Chris belonged to another timeline. She was not in the mood for playing games, and if she did not get her son back from the strange woman, she would surely not leave powerless.

"We want our powers back," she stated in a deep tone, suggesting she was not the buyer for an easy-going conversation with an unnervingly cheerful warlock.

"Oh, you will get them back alright, don't worry about that," assured the woman, "Binding them serves merely as a temporary assurance, so you wouldn't attack me until you hear me out."

Before any of the sisters could react to what has been said, shiny orbs filled the room with the all too familiar jingling, but before Phoebe could jump in to kick the newcomer right down to the ground, she realized the orbs did not belong to another Darklighter. They were shiny blue, without any trace of a deeper shade.

"Ah, great, now I can't use my powers here either," spitted the exasperated man at the witches, visibly annoyed with their presence. Chris took in his surroundings even before he spoke up, and Phoebe noticed he slightly dropped his shoulders upon not sensing any direct threat.

"Chris!" Paige breathed, but both her sisters and Leo seemed to relax at the sight of him just as much as she did. "Where were you?" she asked not really caring about his answer, she was just glad he was back unharmed.

"I got held up," he snorted, obviously referring to the Darklighter he dragged along. He must have been misled, and Piper didn't fail to notice the small bloodstain on the right shoulder of his hoodie. It did not look as a serious injury, but it still signaled he must have gotten into a fight with the Darklighter before orbing here.

"Mayra, I presume," Chris turned to the warlock immediately, not sparing a glance more to his family. The woman turned towards him and let out a satisfied sigh, all the way smiling up on the young man in a way that made Piper cringe inside. Mayra greeted him with just a barely noticeable bow, creating a falsely delightful feeling around her presence. "I think you have something to share with me," he added.

Piper watched helplessly as with a single sentence, Chris had effectively excluded his whole family from the evolving discussion. Was this how he was going to play now? They risk their lives to save him, and he's talking to a demon in a friendlier manner than to _**them**_?

'_You have treated demons in a friendlier manner than __**him**__!'_ screamed her conscience, instantly cutting the way of her anger, replacing it with an uncomfortable soreness in her chest.

"I have indeed, Christopher," said the woman, watching as Chris flinched upon hearing his name. Making no retorts, the Witchlighter eyed her expectantly, urging her to go on without having to question her. "I have precious information regarding the reason you traveled back in time."

Chris did not actually expect her to say something about his mission right ahead. Of course he was going to question her about the Darklighters, and obviously about her motives, eventually leading the conversation to a point where he would have tried to gather information on who might want to turn Wyatt. Yet, getting straight to the point seemed way too easy, and that made him alarmed.

"Yes, I know why you're here," she confirmed his doubts, "and believe me, I'd go great lengths to prevent it from ever happening."

Mayra. Although neither the name, nor her appearance was familiar to Chris, he guessed she must have been enslaved by Wyatt in his future, thus the warlock's willingness to talk. Demons with the ability to see the future, or simply those who knew they would be serving his brother were more likely to assist him in his mission. The young man had noticed that already.

"What about the Darklighters?" he asked, steadying his ground before getting into deeper waters.

"There are no more of them, just the four you probably already killed. I had to create a situation where I could contact you without getting vanquished on the spot."

"That attack of yours could have been fatal," Chris went on, fishing for something that could tell him how much trust he should actually put into the woman's words.

"Make no mistake Whitelighter, it _**was**_ meant to be fatal," Mayra smiled, "for your little brother, that is."

Leo had to put his arm in front of Piper to prevent her from launching at the warlock right that moment. His wife had always been short-tempered, it proved to be a common Halliwell treat actually. Still, as much as he'd like to lash out on the creature that attempted to harm her son, he couldn't very well let Piper do something so reckless. By the looks of Chris, the Elder doubted he'd let them vanquish her before he had his private interrogation anyway.

"But I never really believed it would be a success, though," Mayra added hurriedly before one of the sisters lost it. "I removed my wards only so you could find me. If I cannot kill the Twice-Blessed, I am more than willing to help prevent his turning."

"We don't want help from someone who tried to kill my son," uttered Leo through gritted teeth, but Chris was not happy about hearing his voice.

"_**I**_ do," he emphasized while sending a disapproving look to the Elder. They could use all the resources available, regardless if they are considered demonic or not. Why won't his family get this? Wasn't changing the future more important than their questions about their own morals?

"I have never harmed a single innocent being, Leo Wyatt," Mayra tried to clarify her position, "I have no wish of an evil reign."

"Isn't my son innocent enough for your liking?" prompted the Elder furiously, but the deadly look Chris sent him set him back from raising his voice again.

"Not nearly innocent enough, no," she added, focusing her attention back to the only person who seemed to be able to talk reasonably. "Before we go any further, I have to tell you, I put my life in great danger with revealing my hirers. My means of taking cover were not successful enough the first time to hide from them, therefore I might need protection if it comes down to a confrontation before you… finish them, you would, I assume?"

"Granted."

'_What?! Just like that?' _Piper wasn't sure if she'd heard it right. Chris was offering _**protection**_ to the woman who sent Darklighters after Wyatt not an hour ago? She was dangerous, she needed to be vanquished, but what was the boy doing? Discussing her first-born's safety with a warlock. The whole situation was plain crazy. They orbed in expecting to save Chris, and now they were just standing there awkwardly, not daring to disturb the negotiation he had gotten into with Mayra. Parenting that kid must have been a damn hard task if he had always been like that…

"I trust your word, Christopher," the woman said after contemplating her options for a short moment, and Chris fought the urge to correct her about the usage of his name. "But I will let you know, you will have to make an effort to trust mine as well, since what I'm about to reveal might not sound very believable at first."

Chris was dazed to say the least. Was that it? Was this finally the lead he was waiting for ever since he stepped through the portal? He fought tooth and nail day by day to get information about who might have turned Wyatt, and after so much wasted effort, was his mission finally coming to an end just like this? It seemed too easy to be believable in itself, not to mention the trustworthiness of Mayra's word was still in question. Things never came so easily to Chris. That was not something he was accustomed to. But then again, if this was the breakthrough he was waiting for…

"The force that is responsible for the Twice-Blessed's turning does not originate from our side…"

Of course it was not that easy. It is never that easy.

"…It resides on the good side of the Great Balance." Chris managed to keep a straight face upon the ridiculous assertion, but disbelief was evident in the Charmed Ones' and Leo's cases.

"Moreover," Mayra went on, turning towards the Elder, "if your kind would—"

The warlock never got to finish her sentence, as a Darklighter arrow pierced through her chest before Chris even noticed the newcomer's presence. How came he did not hear or see him entering the lair? Such a mistake would have long caused his death in his future. God, he could get so distracted and careless around his family sometimes…

The Darklighter raised his crossbow and pointed it at Leo, but before Chris could utter a word, Piper was already flicking her hands to blow him up. Sadly enough for Chris, this time her magic had worked. Mayra has rapidly turned into a pile of ashes, and her not-so-desired death also broke the spell that bound the Halliwell powers, returning them to their rightful owners.

"You _**do**_ realize you just killed our only remaining lead, right?"

…

Phoebe was not quite sure who she was seeing anymore when looking at the man flipping through the pages of the Book. So much has happened in the last few days, and they have so many issues with him that are waiting to be resolved yet…

Four days had passed since the Mayra incident in the Underworld, and things did not look any better with Chris than before. He got so worked up when Piper blasted the Darklighter – saying there was no one else to help them track down the threat to Wyatt – that he decided to orb out instead of directing his anger at them. They would have deserved it though, Phoebe had to admit.

The only progress they made was with Piper, who got upset but somewhat courageous at the same time, and she tried to get in touch with her son these last four days. Well, in her case getting in touch meant calling out his name occasionally in a low voice, hoping there would be an answer, but that was more than what she was doing up until then. Of course, Chris never reacted, and the only person who would most likely get an actual answer defiantly rejected the option of calling her nephew. Paige knew well that Chris' demeanor would not be any different from what he produced the last time, not just yet. But even though the redhead was probably right to leave the kid alone for a little while, Phoebe couldn't help but sneak up to the attic at nights – not that she could get any sleep anyway. It sounded miraculous even to her, but after three nights of waiting in vain, the witch finally got what she desired.

Chris was there.

He did not turn on the lights when he orbed in, and Phoebe was not quite sure if he'd noticed her figure in the doorway. The full moon provided enough light for him to read the entries, and the Empath was reluctant to move, fearing he would leave immediately upon realizing she was there. She even tried to control her breath, as if trying not to scare a wounded animal away.

After a few minutes of observing him she decided this couldn't go on forever, and hesitantly broke the comfortable silence.

"Do you hate us?" she asked the first thing that popped up in her mind, and unsurprisingly, it was the question that was eating her up for weeks now.

"Yes," came the answer without missing a beat, but Phoebe could tell there was no certainty behind the word. Or more like, she hoped there was none.

'_Well, at least he __**was**__ aware of my presence and hasn't made a run for it yet,'_ she tried to cheer herself up with the only positive thought that came to her.

"No," the Witchlighter corrected himself without delay, but after a moment of thinking he decided to settle with the truth rather than the intention of hurting the Charmed One. "I don't know."

"We really did screw up there, didn't we?" Phoebe tried to lighten the atmosphere with an easy-going attitude, though she didn't think she'd really deserve to get away with her previous behavior so easily.

"That doesn't begin to cover it, Phoebe."

And she wouldn't get away with it, she realized.

"Chris, I… I cannot even say how sorry I am… for how I acted… for how I treated you… for everything," the Empath began her speech uncertainly, wondering if there was a correct form of asking for her nephew's forgiveness. There probably wasn't. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not," Chris replied in a calm, deep tone, not tearing his gaze from the Book of Shadows.

"I… what—"

"You're not sorry for how you treated me, Phoebe. You are sorry for that I am your nephew."

Phoebe gasped. That was _**so**_ nowhere near the truth. How could he even think of something like that?

"No Chris, you got this wrong, I really—"

"Let me guess, you really are sorry for putting me in a crystal cage, for invading my memories, and for practically kicking me around for these last few months, right?"

Phoebe inhaled sharply at the summarized version of what she'd done wrong, and what had led to Chris facing her now without a trace of emotion on his features.

"No Phoebe. You are not sorry for those things. You are sorry because you have done them to someone who suddenly became your nephew."

The Empath was at a complete loss for words. What was her nephew saying? Did he think she only cared for him because he was part of her family now?

"You would not feel the slightest remorse if my identity would still be a secret..."

How could he say that? That was not true…

"You would be content with everything you've done if I was only your Whitelighter."

That was not true. It was not. It could not be… could it?

"But things don't work that way, Phoebe. You don't get to automatically like me just because we share blood, and I don't get to like you just because you suddenly feel obligated to make up for your actions. That's what I meant when I said my identity doesn't matter… because it _**really**_ does not," Chris paused for a second, wavering about if he should go on, but when he saw the dismay that occupied the woman's face he decided to end his little speech without getting into it any deeper. "If you don't like someone as a stranger, liking them as family is just… hypocritical."

Phoebe was not sure how much truth Chris' words held anymore. There were so many things they did not notice about him up until the moment he became family. So many things they failed to see, to do, to say, to ask… And still, she couldn't picture herself standing here, dwelling on what her _**Whitelighter **_might have to say. A month ago, she wouldn't have even thought about staying up so late just to see him, and she probably wouldn't have felt the need to apologize either. How could a person's opinion became so important after being declared as family? It was only a word, now that she thought about it. Nephew. It should not change her feelings towards the person so drastically.

But Chris was wrong.

"You know, you might be right," said Phoebe after long minutes of silence. Her words went against her thoughts, but if she was going to make him understand, she had to start somewhere. "Starting to like you would seem hypocritical right now."

The confession surprised Chris. So much actually, that his movement of turning a page froze, and he was standing above the pedestal, holding the sheet in the air rather awkwardly.

"Actually, I don't think I liked you, Chris," Phoebe finally voiced the sentence that required more courage than she had ever needed. "Yes, I feel guilty, and I care about you. I want you to be safe, and I want you to feel happy. But as you said, that might be only because you're my nephew."

The witch succeeded in getting Chris' attention, and despite his non-caring attitude at first, now he seemed to be rather interested in what the Empath had to say.

"As a person… I don't know how I feel about you. I don't dislike you. None of us do, believe me. I know the way we treated you is no way to treat someone who just tries to help… but we did not know that back then. Or more like, we were ignorant and did not want to believe that, because… you were not family."

Phoebe did not want to hurt Chris anymore. God only knows he had been hurt enough. Yet, there was a chance her words stung him, even if she was just trying to get her point through. She did not realize they had stung her more than her nephew.

"But we never disliked you Chris. You came from the future with bad news, and we obliviously took out our frustration on you, while you were just the messenger. We were… unfair, to say the least. But we never disliked you. It's just… you never actually gave anything for us to like, you know."

"I did not come back to make friends, Phoebe."

"I know, I understand that now. But you did not plan on letting us know who you really are, either."

Chris was a little lost about where the Charmed One would want to lead the conversation. First she admitted she did not like him, and now she was actually blaming him for not being likeable? Or was she looking for a chance to actually get to know him?

"We did not like you because you did not let us see _**what**_ was there to like, and I am sure there is plenty. I love you because you are family. But I _**want**_ to like you because of who you are, Chris. I _**could**_ like you because of who you are, and only if you gave me a chance, I am fairly sure you could get to like me, too."

"I don't really believe in second chances."

"That's exactly what I'm getting at! It hurts to admit, but we failed you as a family, and we failed you miserably… But we never tried to like each other just for the sake of it. We never tried to become friends!"

Chris had to admit there was truth in what Phoebe was saying. The Halliwells' previous behavior was still highly uncalled for, but he never really tried to like them either. He tried so hard to differentiate the Charmed Ones from his family that he actually didn't even consider them to be… well, possible friends. They were allies, they were his charges, but not his friends. His mind could work with only so many versions of the sisters…

"See?" Phoebe asked when she saw Chris giving some thought to her reasoning, but it was obvious she was desperately clinging into the hope of working things out with the young man – which seemed less and less likely to happen these days. "That might be one chance we haven't wasted yet."

Chris eyed the woman standing in front of her. She was tired and enthusiastic, bereft of hope and full of reliance at the same time… and God, so young.

This was the first time that – besides Paige – any of the Halliwells really resembled a member of his family. Phoebe now looked so vivid, so sensible… She was so much like the person who bought him a second guitar for his birthday – even though he never learnt to play on his first one either. She was so much like the always smiling woman who took the time to adore his drawings he made in pre-school – no matter how rarely they saw each other…

She was so much like his Aunt Phoebe.

"It just might be," he almost whispered, not having the heart to break the Empath's spirit. When he saw the uncertain smile forming on her soft features, Chris couldn't take the situation anymore. Closing his eyes he orbed away, all the way recalling the same, oblivious smile she sent him just moments before he watched his hands moving and planting a dagger right in her stomach…

No, he wouldn't tell her. She didn't need to know the reason why he didn't _**want**_ to be part of their family. Maybe… if he stayed away long enough, perhaps he could learn to live with his conscience someday. Only if he didn't have to look at her…

Maybe, just maybe, his nausea would also go away.

"It just might be."

…

_Hey there! :) I see the number of people following this story dropped a bit, but well, I really have been writing it for years now so it's no wonder I guess. I will finish it nonetheless, don't worry, and thank you very much for your reviews! ;)_

_Next chapter is all about Cole, I promise. He is supposed to be one of those two characters this story focuses on after all, but it took some time to bring him into the scene. Well, enjoy reading and please, tell me if you liked it or not! :)_

_Million thanks for Cheerpup1392 for beta-ing :)_


	12. Chapter 12

He recognized his surroundings instantly. He was in the Underworld, accompanied by two – yet unknown – figures. His vision was a bit blurry after he got to his feet, but blinking a few times cleared his sight surprisingly quickly, and he was taken aback by the quick adapting ability of a physical body. Strangely enough he had some sort of sense about the time that had passed since his death, but the fact that he didn't really feel like he'd been deceased for the last few years still surprised the demon.

He had been resurrected.

Again.

Annoyance was the first emotion that Cole's brain managed to register in its renewed state when he caught a better glimpse of the two men standing in front of him.

'How very typical,' he mused as he lazily took in the image of his company. One of them he recognized straightaway; it would have been hard to forget those ugly features of the Lazarus. For a short moment he contemplated what the demon had to do with his revival, but when the creature took a careful step backwards, glancing fearfully between him and the other man, Cole knew there was no reason to keep him around for interrogation. He was obviously just taking orders; probably serving his master by granting the means of his resurrection.

The ex-Source raised his arm slightly hesitantly, and for a second he contemplated if he should just kill both of the strangers in sight before deciding what to do with himself. He summoned a fireball in his hand, relishing the well-known feeling of power coursing through his veins. He didn't know much about why he had been revived or what he would do with his re-granted life, but he knew one thing for sure.

He liked power.

Well, that was not very surprising, considering the fact that he was still a demon. And if he was a demon, he might as well act like one, right?

Cole took the liberty of hurling a fireball in the direction of the lowly creature, while the appealing thought of angering his master idly crossed his mind. The man – or rather boy, really – however, did not appear to be too shaken by his loss. As a matter of fact, even a ghost of a smile lingered on his features.

"Welcome back, Mr. Turner," the stranger greeted the demon casually, not even remotely bothered by the wild screams the Lazarus let be heard. With his smug grin and arms lazily hanging by his sides, he gave off the impression of an absolutely over-confident, arrogant bastard. Cole decided he liked the kid.

Too bad he was having a bad day.

Conjuring another fireball he eyed the kid with the same confidence radiating from his posture, and made an attempt to feel bad about having to kill the person who was most likely responsible for giving his life back. After all, it wasn't the boy's fault that he didn't exactly _**ask**_ to be forced back into his miserable existence, was it?

Despite his expectations, the brown-haired man didn't look intimidated by the flaming threat he was ready to throw. Not at all. He had guts, Cole noted unwillingly. The idea of eradicating the kid didn't make him particularly happy, but he long learnt to strike before asking questions. He withdrew his arm in order to gather momentum, but before he could let go of the burning ball he saw the stranger conjure something in his own hand. It was an energy ball of a way higher voltage than Cole himself could ever master creating.

'_Now-now, looks like we have something interesting here after all,'_ Cole thought mockingly. It was a rather irritating fact but the kid managed to get his attention, which was usually not the easiest task to carry out.

Both men were standing painfully still, not making any attempts to attack with the creations they held. They were simply eyeing each other without any movement for long minutes, daring the other to take the initiative. It took Cole some time to grasp his foe's intention, but after a while he lowered the fireball in his hand grudgingly, letting the flames die out.

This was just a show-off, after all.

When the energy ball dissolved in the kid's hand in reaction, Cole's suspicions seemed to be proven. The boy didn't mean to hurt him in any way; the display of his powers was only supposed to clear up the balance of forces.

Much to his misfortune, the demon rather preferred to get the upper-hand before contently engaging himself in a meaningless chit-chat about the reasons behind his actions.

Cole took a sudden step to the left, but to his surprise, the still unknown person mimicked his movement without a second of delay. His enemy did not move out of reflex; he expected Cole's start. That was the first time he realized that the boy bore knowledge about him that extended way beyond just his name.

"Why did you revive me?" he reluctantly forced the words out of his mouth, carefully hiding the shudder that his throat's soreness sent through his body. He didn't intend to talk to the stranger before ensuring his position as the superior being out of the two, but he also couldn't help but feel like he was not necessarily the stronger one in this case.

"I want your help," came the indifferent answer.

The ex-Source knew the wording had been carefully chosen, with the sole purpose of radiating authority. It was not a plea or a request, but a direct command.

Well, looks like the kid just earned himself a lesson about why Cole Turner should not be ordered around.

"It's a shame I'm not keen on helping strangers, then."

"Not even those who just brought you back to life?" asked the still smugly smirking young man, though he clearly wasn't expecting to receive a positive answer. His calm manner started to seriously unsettle the demon. He wasn't used to being intimidated, and he sure as hell wasn't going to pick up new habits now.

"Tough luck, kid."

Kid. The word rolled off his tongue easily – way too easily for his liking, and he had to keep himself from wincing at the unexpected familiarity. There was something seriously off with the boy, he just couldn't pin-point what it was… yet.

The demon was clearly annoyed with the man's presence, which he didn't even bother to hide. He was nowhere near thrilled by the fact that he was forced back into an existence he abandoned long ago. He had been clinging onto his feelings for Phoebe long before his death, and he always thought that a world without her love was not worth living in.

Unbeknown to him, the kid was just about to change that.

Cole closed the distance between him and the stranger, hoping to catch him off guard as he aimed a kick straight at his chest. He took a fighting stance after his enemy dodged his attack with little to no difficulty, and by the time he moved in to repeat his attack the boy was already in motion as well.

'_Definitely not just a reflex.'_

He raised an eyebrow after the kid's shoulder connected with his shin, and he was shoved back with just a little bit more force than was probably necessary. It was enough to get the point through though, so Cole stepped back in defeat, deciding it was not worth pushing the matter any further. He obviously did not expect for his assaults to be shrugged off so easily, but knew better than to show surprise in a battle. His opponent obviously knew his tactics from first hand; there was no other explanation to how the kid was able to read his movements.

Cole started to search for familiarities on his face, being almost sure they have been engaged in a fight before. He eyed the man for long minutes, going through hundreds of faces in his mind rapidly, comparing features in the hope of finding a match.

He didn't find any.

The kid had emerald green eyes, a freckle on the side of his nose and thick black eyebrows that suggested his chestnut-brown hair must have been a few shades darker at some point. His movements were self-assured, and there was an obvious – somewhat impish – enjoyment on his face upon sensing Cole's discomfort. His choice of clothing was simple and practical; dark jeans and a hoodie that left him enough freedom to perform quick movements if the situation required. His appearance lacked any uniqueness or peculiarity; which probably came useful when he wanted to blend in a crowd.

Despite the fairly thorough examination, Cole couldn't come up with anyone he could recognize in the young man. He had the impression that his challenger knew him personally, but at the same time he was positive they never met before.

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly, unable to hide his amusement at the confused expression he was met with, and just like that, it all fell in place for Cole.

He might not have known him personally, but he recognized certain familiarities on the kid's features that could be related to someone he actually _**did**_ know.

Aside from certain traits that came with his gender, the boy was a scarily accurate copy of his late sister-in-law.

"You're related to Prue," the words left his mouth before he could stop himself, involuntarily voicing the theory he didn't have the time to think through properly. Still, he noticed more and more of the Halliwell traits as he kept on studying the youth's face, and when the boy formed a heartfelt smile at his hasty statement, Cole realized he was not imagining the connection. The sneaky bastard _**was**_ related to Prudence Halliwell.

But how? He looked like he was around his twenties, so there was no way he could have been her child. Well, not unless the ex-Source's sense of time hasn't been as exact as he thought...

…Or unless they were in the future.

_Or_ the kid came from the future…

Or he was just facing a long-lost relative to the Halliwells – much like in Paige's case years ago.

All of a sudden the relation between those two didn't seem so impossible anymore. Hell, there were even too many options to choose from.

Prue was dead – or at least she definitely _**had**_ been dead the last time Cole checked, but it wouldn't be the first time for a Halliwell to overcome the boundaries of the afterlife, would it?

Oh, how much Cole wished he could just crawl back to the place he emerged from and bury himself in a state of blissful ignorance, not having to deal with any of the Warren witches ever again…

The brown-haired man chuckled at his ability to make such a swift correlation between him and Prue, and his smile finally reached his eyes for the first time in months. His changed expression caused Cole to tilt his head curiously, and just then, he managed to pick up on something else on the relaxed features he was studying…

A fragment of Leo Wyatt.

The boy's eyes might have borne the same color as those of Prue's, but they were definitely shaped after the Whitelighter's features, and so were the dimples under his cheekbones that were formed by his smile.

But then again, Leo and Prue together? Cole felt a chill travelling down his spine at the awfully wrong mental picture. He came across many people whose sanity was more than just a little questionable, but the Halliwells suddenly outranged each and all of the lunatics he met along the years. Just what the bloody hell was going on in that family?

"I am indeed. Though it took them fairly longer to figure me out," the young man clarified enthusiastically, not feeling the need to explain whom he was referring to. "I'm Chris. Piper's and," he paused for a breath, "Leo's son. Prue is my aunt."

'_Interesting indeed,'_ Cole mused after hearing the short speech out. It didn't escape him how bitterly Leo's name was mouthed, but he was too caught up in the revelation to comment.

Piper's blood, then. That surely made much, much more sense, and Cole was utterly thankful when the mental images he previously had began to dissolve. The kid's age still bothered him, but he decided to save that particular conversation for later – knowing well there would be a 'later' if Chris could help it. He was well-aware that getting a Halliwell off your tail was easier said than done, and this particular specimen seemed to be more determined upon something than any other he'd known so far.

"Glad to see your family's habit of picking on the dead was successfully passed down to the younger generation," the demon noted with dry sarcasm, though Chris could feel that the now feigned annoyance was directed more at the rest of the Halliwells than him. "Now, tell me kid, what could you possibly give me in return for my help? I highly doubt you can list anything that would make it worth me dealing with your ever-so-pleasant relatives," he probed suspiciously, not nearly keen on breathing the same air as his executioners once again.

But as usual, what a Halliwell wants, a Halliwell gets.

"How about Phoebe?"

…

Three hours later they entered a building located downtown, surrounded by a busy, yet quiet neighborhood. The kid didn't question how Cole got his hands on a penthouse in such a short time, and he thanked the Powers That Be for Chris to lack the usual Halliwell-like incertitude. The residence was located on the top floor of a 7-story building, equipped with modest and elegant furniture, but still including most of the features of a luxurious place.

Chris navigated through the space with eagerness, running his fingers over the keys of the grand piano in the living room, exploring all the rooms before he finally settled down in one of the three bedrooms. It was decorated with dark brown wallpaper, and there was a large four-poster bed in the center. He didn't seem to mind the fact that the penthouse belonged to his uncle, or at least he wasn't showing any discomfort when he claimed the master bedroom to be his own.

"What if I wanted that room?" Cole raised an eyebrow upon seeing the familiarity Chris was moving around with in their new home, clearly undecided about where the boy's blatant confidence came from. Chris turned and smirked at him in response, letting his rucksack fall to the dark purple sheets of the king size bed.

"I highly doubt that," he stated, glowing with the delight of a child at Christmas morning as he let his body fall next to what little belongings he possessed. "The one opposite the kitchen would suit your tastes better."

Strangely enough, it did.

Cole didn't like four-poster beds, and undeniably preferred light painted walls opposed to those wallpapered ones. He'd spent more than enough time in the Underworld to hate being surrounded by darkness, after all. He had never been keen on large rooms either; having less space also meant it was easier kept neat and orderly.

The following day went by simply with sharing details about the future that apparently needed a heavy make-up, and the present that Cole didn't feel like he belonged to anymore. Yet, what the Witchlighter told him was more than enough to get his cooperation, so he did not request more information than what the kid was willing to provide – neither regarding the future, nor about Chris himself.

Winning back the woman who once awakened his human side and tore him out of his misery was more than a prize enough for the demon's help, no matter how furious he felt with the witch at the moment. He knew he would forgive Phoebe eventually – he always did, and according to the time-traveller, their happiness wouldn't last only for a few years this time.

If they managed to pull of Chris' little plan, the outcome would be more than just 'worth his time', as he previously cited. What could beat the concept of a happy life with the love of your life after all?

He did not ask Chris about things he didn't necessarily need to know, yet, in a matter of hours he found himself knowing more about the time-traveller than the people who were his charges for these last seven months. Heck, he was even _**aware**_ that he knew more than the Halliwells, and he knew that without actually having to inquire. His nephew told him.

"Nephew," he tested the sounding of the word when he retreated to his room at the end of the day, but he didn't find the same familiarity behind the phrase which was present upon calling him 'kid'. The word simply sounded out of place, as if it didn't belong there, as if it wasn't the right term to describe their relationship.

'_Nonsense,'_ he scolded himself, _'being dead must have screwed up my head even more than last time.'_

Cole knew there shouldn't be any familiarity between him and Chris, at least nothing he couldn't blame on him being a typical Halliwell. Seeing things that were probably just the products of his imagination was at the border of being acceptable as it was, but searching for them was plainly irrational.

But the strange feeling refused to go away.

The beginning of the next day lived up to the routine Chris and Cole fell into the following weeks: taking a shower in their respective bathrooms, sharing a quiet breakfast in the cozy kitchen, and then quickly liaising their plan about approaching the next target on the younger man's list. The last part didn't take more than a few half-sentences and curt nods in agreement lately, since the two of them pretty much turned out to be tarred with the same brush, as Cole noted. Chris laid the blame upon the fact that it was the demon who trained him to fight and taught him about battle strategies, but the ease of how they worked together still struck Cole as a wonder.

He had never been the type who functioned well next to the constant presence of someone else. He understood the importance of teamwork of course, and he was even forced to share his matters with his comrades while serving in the Brotherhood of the Thorn, but that didn't mean he _**liked**_ to share his work. He was a lone-wolf who rather carried out tasks all by himself if he could help it, so it surprised him how easily he tolerated Chris' company during their visits to the Underworld.

The kid knew the terrain almost as well as him, and he proved to be quite effective at extracting information from demons. His acting skills were neatly polished, and the two men quickly fell into a silent agreement about which one of them was to take the lead in a certain interrogation – depending on the loyalties and fears of the subject.

Chris was also well-trained in close combat. His favorite weapons were two daggers, which he used with more than neat efficiency as the demon noted. The kid might have been more dangerous with those weapons than Cole with his whole selection of offensive powers, and that said, he didn't even want to imagine what Chris could achieve in a fight if he decided to unleash his magic.

But of course, it never came to that, as Cole knew the boy denied using his powers shortly after his brother took control over the world. Maybe doing so wasn't the wisest choice, seeing he could have used them to fight Wyatt's regime, but Cole could see where the Witchlighter was coming from. He knew how easily power could poison the owner, and with the amount the kid must have possessed… Corruption was a rather rational fear in his case indeed.

"Is my future counterpart in the same league as you, or has the student surpassed his master there too?" the demon asked after taking a look around the cave filled with corpses that were rapidly turning into ashes or flaming up. They took out at least a dozen upper-level demons with quick efficiency, yet Cole couldn't help but notice the difference in their shape after the fight was over.

His own breathing was ragged, his clothes stained with the blood of their victims, there was a slight cut above his eyebrow and one on his upper lip.

Chris however, looked like as if he just finished a light conversation with the clan of the Brute demons. His daggers disappeared into thin air – thanks to one of Phoebe spell's he could summon them by will – and he run a hand through his unkempt hair, smirking at his uncle's appearance. There was not a single drop of blood on his outfit.

"Your future self would kick my sorry ass anytime, if that's any consolation."

It wasn't.

Despite the fact that Cole obviously trained the young Halliwell in the future, he didn't like to be outdone in the present. Apparently not even if it was the result of his own__teaching_**.**_

It took him almost a week, and a rather surprising discovery to accept the situation and stop caring about being second best to him in a fight.

"Wait, you've got what?" he asked unbelievingly after he decided to share a glass of whiskey with his nephew after a long day full of vanquishes. It seemed like it was only Cole who enjoyed the liquid though; the younger man visibly wasn't so keen on alcohol.

"Don't make me repeat myself. You've heard me just right."

"Inferiority complex," Cole stated with bulging eyes, keeping himself from dropping the glass upon his surprise. "You've got an inferiority complex."

"That's right."

"_**Inferiority**_ complex."

"Yes."

"_**You've**_ got an infe—"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Chris interjected finally, rolling his eyes exasperatedly at his uncle's mockery. "You shouldn't feel inferior to your brother since your powers might be greater; you're not any less than your brother just because you are not Twice-Blessed; you have no real reason to feel this and that and so on," he went on in a derisive tone, imitating his own relatives as they tried to reassure him one too many times in the future. "It gets old quickly, and at the end of the day, you just still can't compare to the shining Twice-Blessed. You always come in second."

There was a stretched silence in the dining room as Cole slowly lowered his glass to the large table. He looked Chris straight in the eye, and the boy could practically feel how the demon was dwelling on the information he just provided.

For long minutes it didn't look like he was going to speak up, but just when Chris decided to break the tension with changing the topic, Cole spoke up.

"So," he paused, making sure he got the Witchlighter's attention, and carried on in a dead serious tone. "An Inferiority complex."

Chris wasn't sure if he heard right. Was his uncle making fun of—

"Camelot has got an inferiority complex," Cole repeated the last words with more emphasis, but it was evident he was already having a hard time to keep a straight face. "Camelot, who holds greater power than any of—"

"It's not about the _**amount**_ of power!" Chris tried to cut the demon's building hilarity, but it was already too late. "It's more about… oh fine, if you're going to laugh just laugh already! Your head is starting to turn green."

And Cole laughed. He laughed so hard Chris was beginning to wonder if he just discovered what it truly meant to 'have fun', but he didn't question. Instead, he joined in his uncle's amusement, unable to suppress his own chuckles when he saw the ex-Source clutching his stomach.

The Halliwell never noticed, but that was the first time Cole Turner really got a taste of the true meaning of familiarity.

Three glasses later on Cole's side and two on Chris', they decided to call it a day and retreated to give in to their sleepiness. They were just leaving the table when the kid accidentally let something slip about Bianca that he deliberately skipped so far whenever her name came up.

"An assassin? Your fiancée was an _**assassin**_? Don't you, Halliwells, even vaguely get the idea of this whole 'good versus evil' thing?" the demon frowned at the newly acquired information, but his tone betrayed his seemingly endless amusement when it came to Chris' stories.

"That's rich coming from a demon who married a _**witch**_," the boy replied cheekily, fighting the grin that threatened to over-take his features.

"Oh please, Phoebe doesn't count as good."

"She's a Charmed One," Chris stated, successfully earning a knowing snort from his uncle.

"Charmed," he shook his head, "You _**so**_ obviously never met her before her morning coffee."

…

Cole Turner has never been a curious person.

He always minded his own business, did not ask unnecessary questions, and carefully avoided getting involved in someone else's issues. He believed that everybody had their own reasons for doing things the way they did them, and had learnt at a fairly young age that pointless knowledge only meant trouble. He was not the type to smother people with questions anyway, and he soon realized he purely lacked the interest in others too much to meddle in someone else's matters.

Simply put, Cole Turner never cared enough to be put in the category of 'curious people'.

Yet, the demon found himself to be standing at the doorway of the moonlit room, unable to tear his gaze from the still figure lying on the sheets. Chris was sleeping soundlessly on the king size bed, and Cole had to realize that this was the first time he actually saw him getting some real rest. The kid didn't know, but the ex-Source was well-aware of all the tossing and turning he usually was engaged in during the nights, despite the charms he cast over the room to make it sound-proof.

The more he watched the peacefully sleeping boy the calmer the demon got, and he decided that despite his usually indifferent behavior he would not stay quiet any longer. Not under the circumstances the kid has set up.

Cole made a resolution to finally pop the question that was bugging him ever since he first laid his eyes on the Whitelighter…

But not until he woke up. Not until he was well rested at last.

"_**Welcome back, Mr. Turner."**_

Those were the first words he heard the kid say slightly less than a month ago, and he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face upon recalling their first encounter. They definitely came a long way ever since then.

Cole shifted his weight and tensed when he saw the boy slowly curl his fingers and grasp the blanket in his dream, but relaxed when he gave no more indications of having a nightmare as the minutes passed by.

It took Cole a while to categorize his emotions concerning his nephew, but after much contemplating he finally managed to name a few of them.

One was protectiveness.

He felt unreasonably overprotective of the Witchlighter, and that started to bother him to no end.

The feeling itself was not new to him, but still highly uncharacteristic in the given situation. Ever since Chris told him about the future he supposedly shared with Phoebe, he couldn't help but feel a strange pull towards his newfound nephew, and the feeling only seemed to grow with every single word the two men shared. The kid revealed way more information than a time-traveller was supposed to give away in his opinion, but he understood the motives behind Chris' actions.

The Halliwells were apparently less than nice to the kid since he had left his own timeline, and it shocked Cole to hear that he even got banned from the Manor at some point. The sister's invasion of his memories was not much less of a setback either – there seemed to be certain things that must have changed drastically since the demon had left the land of the living. The image of the Halliwells in Cole's memories painted them as passionate, determined people when it came to the protection of their progeny, yes, but caging their Whitelighter and beating him up for answers? That fell far from the people he used to know.

Yet, he didn't question Chris' words, not for a single moment. And that described another feeling Cole managed to distinguish related to the young man:

Trust.

He found it rather easy to confide in the boy. _**Way**_ too easy.

Cole made his way back to his own bedroom, his mind filled with short parts of conversations he shared with Chris during this last month. One thing was for sure, they talked a lot. That in itself, was actually something the demon was very, very unaccustomed to.

His nephew always told him something, be it an important detail about how they should go about saving Wyatt, or a simple minor thing that led him to believe Chris knew about his personal life more than he let on. Still, his chaotic and illogical feelings made Cole lost when it came to the kid, and he didn't like the feeling the slightest bit. He tried to summarize what the Witchlighter knew about him, but the list seemed to be endless as he dug deeper and deeper in his memories of their past exchanges.

The thing that didn't let Cole's mind rest was how the kid knew so much about his habits and preferences. Surely, the topic of how one likes their coffee comes up after sharing an apartment for weeks, but the demon just couldn't wrap his mind around how Chris seemed to know details about his personal life he never shared with anyone, not even with his ex-wife.

He knew where Cole was born; the name of his parents, and which law school he attended. He knew about the Brotherhood the demon once belonged to, and the shameful details about his history as the Source. He knew where, when, and how he was vanquished, and he knew about the dark wedding he arranged between Phoebe and himself.

But these were not the facts that bothered Cole, as such things were probably considered to be common knowledge among the Halliwells.

Chris also knew why Cole's mother killed his human father; why he hated most of his classmates in school; what was his favorite subject, and what was the reason that made him despise mortals during the course of his life as a demon. He knew why he found his job of an attorney rather easy, and he knew why he considered Trigg to be his only real friend so far.

Chris knew how he was not a morning person, Chris knew how he liked his pancakes, Chris knew he could play the piano but stopped practicing decades ago, and Chris knew he felt more comfortable in the well-lit bedroom than how he'd feel if he'd taken Chris' current one.

Chris knew practically everything about him, and he couldn't help but wonder how he was able to develop such a trusting relationship in the future with the son of no other than Piper Halliwell. He wasn't even sure if he could form such a relationship with his own descendants, not to mention his nephew… Well, Piper sure as hell wasn't pleased with his constant presence near her offspring.

Actually, the thought of driving her crazy merely with his existence appealed to Cole more than he cared to admit.

His confusion didn't cease though. The admiration Chris looked at him with suggested there was so much going on below the surface, but the kid never gave an insight to his inner turmoil, no matter how comfortable he seemed to be with Cole's company.

A thought has occurred to the demon a few days ago – one that he dismissed immediately, labeling it far-stretched and absurd at first…

He wanted kids once. It was back in the happier times he shared with Phoebe. He felt so ready to start a family that he almost became a father at some point – though he had to admit that the situation was less than ideal. He hasn't thought about having children ever since, not that he spent much time alive after that incident anyway.

He also knew about Leo's voluntary absence in Chris' life. Surely, that didn't automatically mean he took his place, it might have just meant Chris had more time to spend with his other relatives, thus his ease around his uncle. It could have meant the two of them were close in the future only due to the on-going war. It could have meant nothing.

It could have, but Cole wasn't stupid.

The next day's case led them to an interesting duo, to which they fought their way through a Shapeshifter. The mad couple decided to gather powers through some twisted imitation of a reality show that they revolved around the Charmed Ones. They called the game 'Witch Wars' – a title that managed to force a chuckle out of Cole – and sent demons to the Halliwell Manor in order to get rid of the sisters.

Needless to mention, the only participants were those who heavily lacked an organ that was responsible for providing them some common sense.

Much to Chris' dismay the sisters decided to interfere in the case, which was not really surprising due to the fact that _**they**_ were the ones being attacked, but it still took the Witchlighter a great effort to avoid direct contact with them. He was able to get around yet another unpleasant encounter with them with Cole's help, but at the end of the day they didn't get much closer to their main goal.

As a matter of fact, the day had been so unsuccessful that it even left Cole with a serious burn on his left leg, making him barely able to move. Catching the demon off-guard required great effort, but as the current scene indicated, it wasn't impossible.

"This wouldn't have happened if you'd have just let me shove Paige out of the way," hissed Cole when they shimmered back to the penthouse by dinnertime, wincing at every step while Chris helped him to the couch.

"I don't want you to meet them just yet," the younger man shrugged apologetically, but his tone betrayed his real reasons immediately. He wasn't ready to face his family, and Cole couldn't hold that one against the Witchlighter. He himself had some pretty similar reasons for not pushing the issue after all.

He was sure Piper would go berserk if she found out about his resurrection, and truth to be told he wasn't sure about how to handle Phoebe either. She did the right thing by choosing her sisters over him back then – God only knows what would have happened to the world if she did otherwise. Yet, her betrayal still hurt and despite what his nephew claimed, Cole just wasn't sure how things would work out between them again.

"I'll get some water," Chris announced and he stood to make his way to the bathroom.

"Things would be way easier if your Whitelighter half could actually _**heal**_," commented his uncle, unable to hide his grin when Chris stiffened at the mention of the power he didn't possess. Okay, so it wasn't fair to throw a direct kick straight at the young man's inferiority complex, but Cole found the topic to be ridiculously amusing.

"Yeah, sure," the Halliwell shrugged, but there was an obviously irritated undertone in his voice. Ridiculously amusing indeed.

"Try not to become King of the Underworld until I'm back," Chris added nonchalantly, exiting the living room.

Well, that was a low blow.

"That hurt," grimaced Cole. "You're not playing fair, kid," he shouted at the door when he heard Chris turning on the water.

"I never do, Mr. Turner," Cole heard the playful response, but his smile eased a bit at the way he was addressed.

The demon noticed that Chris went by many aliases during their under-cover missions in the Underworld, which was a pretty neat idea considering the fact that his last name was too famous in the magical community to be simply over-looked. However, it surprised him to learn that the boy's favorite cover name apparently happened to be Chris Turner. Cole couldn't question the decision right then of course, and he was somewhat reluctant to bring it up in their latter exchanges, yet it didn't escape him how naturally Chris responded to the name 'Mr. Turner' when they dealt with a surprisingly civilized pack of upper-level demons last week.

Trying to focus on the matter at hand he started to tear down the textile that covered his shin, but Chris returned with a basin of warm water and a piece of cloth before he could finish. He settled down in front of the couch and started to examine the damage on his uncle's leg.

"Don't be so gloomy," Cole tried to reassure him when his worry began to show on his face. "It's still not half as bad as what Piper will do to me when she realizes I'm back," he chuckled slightly, ignoring the pain that shot through his body when Chis touched his flesh with the wet cloth.

"She doesn't hate you quite as much as you reflect, you know," smiled the younger man, but his answer was only an absentminded one, as he was heavily concentrating at treating the nasty wound.

"You're aware of the fact that she actually vanquished me, right?" the demon raised a skeptical eyebrow, his smirk widening at Chris' sudden loss of words. It was a rather rare occasion; the kid always seemed to be ready to throw a biting comeback at – well, at practically anything anyone had to say. Perhaps that was the reasons he enjoyed the Witchlighter's company so much – not many people could keep up with him in a verbal fight.

"I – okay, so she might hold a slight grudge against you since—"

"Twice."

There was a moment of silence and Cole had to hold back his laughter upon the sight of Chris' blank expression. Thank heavens for his never-failing poker face.

"Fine. Not so _**slight**_ grudge then," the boy finally admitted grumpily before proceeding to clean the injury carefully.

There was silence between them once again, and Cole soon found himself to be lost in thoughts when he noticed the familiarity in Chris' movements. It was obviously not the first time they got into a similar situation – well, at least not for the time-traveller. Just how many times had Chris tended his wounds after a battle they presumably fought together?

'_Nephew,'_ the word came to his mind once again as he stared down at Chris, and he felt the unsuitability of the phrase hitting him with a renewed force.  
The strange feeling wouldn't go away. Surely, it might have been only the result of the boy's usual coziness around him, or the fact that he was the only person the demon really spoke to since he started his new life. There was a possibility they simply shared a close uncle-nephew relationship in the future, and these feelings were only due to the circumstances they've been put under currently.

But then again, Cole wasn't stupid.

Chris was simply too much like him to ignore the obvious any longer. There was no fragment in his personality that didn't reek from Cole's influence. The only quality he probably inherited from his mother was his damned stubbornness, and if it wasn't for his looks, the demon would never have guessed the connection between him and the Halliwells.

After the month they had been living together, he would rather have suspected a connection between Chris and himself… Only it wasn't the connection the kid currently claimed it to be.

Well, guessing didn't do any good for him so far, and he decided to shoot the question some days ago anyway. Might as well shoot it now.

"Who am I to you, boy?"

The question made Chris freeze in an instant, but as odd as it sounded, he didn't need any clarifications to what his uncle meant. The nervous, yet relieved expression on the Halliwell's face spoke volumes, and Cole exhaled a similarly nervous, yet relieved breath as his previous confusion slowly disappeared.

The former Source of all Evil apparently had a foster-son in the future.

Cole laughed at the absurdity. Then, he realized that laughing was not a part of his standard repertoire of actions, yet he did that quite a lot recently. How very absurd indeed.

He wasn't sure how he felt about the changed situation, his feelings didn't quite clear up as much as he expected before the conversation… But one thing was for sure: the indifference he mastered more than a century ago was lost for good.

Cole Turner found himself to be actually _**caring**_.

'_Hell, what is this bloody world coming to?'_

…

_I have to admit, I've never been so unsure about a chapter before. I was waiting to write Cole-Chris interactions for so long, but now I'm not entirely sure if I went completely OOC or not. I really need feedback on this, because there are gonna be a lot more chapters with Cole from now on, and if I start out with a badly written Cole, I may continue with a badly written Cole if you don't tell me where I messed up. :D So reviews are more than welcome – as usual. :)_

_Many, many thanks to my beta, Cheerpup1392!_

_Also, I realized that this story just reached 300 followers! :) So, I owe you all a big thank you for your patience and kind words, your reviews really mean a lot to me. So thank you (and stay tuned for the next chapter)! ;)_

_***Answer for a question: evil Wyatt might appear later, but most likely only in memories/flashbacks. Though the Chris-Wyatt issue will be explained in more detail, don't worry. :)***_


	13. Chapter 13

"God, it's freezing out there," complained Phoebe while shrugging off the fluffy winter coat, trying to warm her fingers with her hot breath. The weather in San Francisco was surprisingly chilly even compared to the usual January standards, and the witch wasn't used to the unforgiving cold that bit into her skin the moment she left the Manor hours ago. It was still way before noon – an unusual time for her to arrive from work, but Elise decided to let her enjoy the warmth of her own house until the broken heating system in her office got replaced.

She jumped a few times in the foyer, hoping to get a bit warmed up from the exercise, and decided to invest in a pair of gloves the next time she's forced to leave the shelter of her home.

"Coffee. Must… get… coffee," she muttered to herself before taking the first single-minded step towards the kitchen, only to meet her younger sister halfway.

Paige was descending the staircase slowly and cautiously, wearing the sleepiest expression the Empath ever saw on someone who was actually conscious and moving. She was gripping the railing with as much force as she could master, her eyes unfocused and brows furrowed in concentration. Phoebe guessed she was probably just trying her best to make it downstairs without tripping over her own feet, which seemed to be quite the task in her current state.

Phoebe stopped in her tracks for a moment as the realization hit her. There was only one cup of coffee left in the pot before she left for work.

"Morning," Paige greeted her before taking the last stair, her voice muffled as she failed to stifle a yawn. Phoebe tried to quicken her pace when the younger witch took the turn towards the kitchen, but Paige was way ahead of her, and knowing the redhead's obsession with coffee…

"Good morning to you too, dearest sister of mine," she tried to get the woman's attention with the suspiciously cheerful act, but unfortunately Paige wasn't in the mood to guess the reason behind her strained smile.

"Never said it was good," she grunted, grabbed the coffee pot as soon as she spotted it and poured the last drops of the precious liquid to a cup.

"You shouldn't drink that!" the Empath threw her hands up in protest when Paige lifted the coffee to her mouth, terrified by the thought of having to wait minutes – God, _**minutes – **_before the coffee maker could work its magic again.

"Why?"

Because the older Halliwell desperately needed that cup, that's why.

"Because it's… poisoned," she blurted in her haste, but scolded herself inwardly the moment the last word left her mouth. _'Good one, Pheebs. Way to go.'_

"Poisoned?" Paige raised an amused eyebrow, "Seriously? That's the best you've got?"

"I – it's… it's charmed, actually. It will… it will make your hair fall out!"

"I bet I'll be sexy as a bald."

"No, no, you can't—ah!" Phoebe cried exasperatedly, and Paige couldn't help but chuckle at how her sister seemed to be closing on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "Listen Paige, I've spent two hours in an ice-cold office and… and… Look, there's _**frost**_ in my hair!"

"Not happening, Phoebe."

"B-but… I need that coffee and—"

"And it's mine."

"But it's freezing outside, and… Paige, _**please…**_"

"That desperate, huh?"

Phoebe paused and exhaled as she shut her eyes in defeat, "Don't make me beg."

The redhead only raised the cup lazily as a response, and grinned widely at the priceless expression that settled on her sister's face.

"Okay, fine, I'll beg, just—"

"It's not even warm, Phoebe."

"It doesn't _**matter**_, it's _**coffee**_!"

"Okay. Here you go."

"Please Paige, I deserve that cup, I— Wait, what?"

"You win. It's yours. Here."

The Empath eyed the cup suspiciously, reluctant to take the unexpected offer.

"Just like that?"

"Your face is redder than a strawberry. You must be freezing."

"I don't want it."

"Come again?"

"You gave up too easily."

"You've been practically _**begging**_ me for the last five minutes, Phoebe."

"Exactly," the older witch huffed as she crossed her arms. "Too easy."

"I didn't put a charm on it, if that's what you're on about."

"I never said you— …ah, you _**so**_ did, didn't you? I know you did!"

Paige chuckled at her sister's highly accurate imitation of a spoiled child as she prepared to refill the empty coffee pot, and sat down at the table before taking a gulp of the cold liquid.

"Suit yourself."

Phoebe fiddled with the coffee maker for a minute or two, then grumpily took a seat next to her and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence while the machine started working. Paige silently observed the older Charmed One from the corner of her eye, and decided she was not looking any better than how she did during the holidays.

Christmas had passed quite uneventfully in the Halliwell Manor.

The sisters were introduced to Magic School – an experience that left them headless for a few hours, quite in the literal sense. They managed to get rid of the Headless Horseman, who decided to behead a few teachers out of fun, and Phoebe went on a vision quest she refused to tell about to her family ever since then, claiming it to be too personal to share. Paige was offered a job as a teacher in the strange school, and Leo was trying to talk Piper into enrolling Wyatt, since the headmaster turned out to be his former mentor.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

But despite how Christmas had always been a family holiday for the Halliwells, this year somehow none of them felt like celebrating. They were missing a part of their usual spirit that would make the event enjoyable, and they were missing a very important part at that.

Phoebe was doing a marvelous job at secluding herself in her room most of the times she was home. She kept herself busy with her column, and during the first two weeks after New Year's Eve she left the house only once – not counting today's visit at her workplace. A premonition of hers led the sisters to a demon lair somewhere in Asia a few days ago, but they didn't find either the demon or the innocent girl whom she saw in her vision. Paige could tell that the Empath started to doubt her own powers, and not even Leo could reassure her since then. While Phoebe's currently more than slightly ragged emotional state wasn't a secret to her family, they knew her premonitions would clear up once she got all of her issues resolved…

Starting with the completely pointless long-distance relationship she was still engaged in.

"You need to break up with him sooner or later, you know," the redhead stated bluntly, but Phoebe didn't even bother to look surprised or offended at her comment. They had this conversation more than once since Jason moved to Hong Kong; there was nothing new to be said about the matter. Of course she needed to break up with him – she didn't leave her family for the sake of being with him, so there was no point in delaying the inevitable much longer.

"I know," the Empath sighed, "It's just… I don't quite have the strength for that particular conversation right now."

Paige could understand her. Phoebe seemed tired beyond reason these days. Actually, despite not having much on their plates, all members of her family seemed quite tired lately.

The only day during the holidays that Leo managed to make the Charmed Ones spend together was Christmas Eve, and even then he had to use Wyatt as bait to persuade them to share a dinner. Paige was slowly easing up towards Piper and Leo, and even though she was still a long way from coming to terms with their previous behavior, she was clearly making an effort to tolerate them now.

But of course, the root of the Halliwell family's problems wasn't the redhead's attitude…

"Where's Piper?" Phoebe inquired, hoping to chase her thoughts away from her faltering relationship.

"On a cleaning rampage in the attic," came the bitter answer, escorted by a roll of chocolate brown eyes. New Year or no New Year, Piper was in no better shape than how she left the previous one. But then again, Piper's behavior didn't come as a surprise to Paige, considering the odd circumstances her family had to put up with lately. No matter how much they all tried to act normal, sooner or later their thoughts always led them back to one single person – one single issue they failed to find a solution for during the last month.

They haven't seen Chris since their encounter with Mayra.

It was Phoebe who spoke to the young man last, but they knew he was still visiting the Manor occasionally and used the Book. They knew, because the cookies that Paige left on the table at the attic disappeared by the morning at least twice a week.

"Still angry at you about yesterday?" smirked the Empath, and Paige felt grateful for seeing her sister's smile after what felt like years. She grinned back, recalling Piper's face when she saw the aftermath of the explosion the redhead caused in her precious kitchen not more than 20 hours ago.

"I would think so."

The Halliwell matriarch wasn't sure how to feel when her youngest sister first invaded her kitchen and made a huge mess only to produce a few, barely edible looking chocolate chips, but she slowly learnt to deal with this newfound obsession of Paige's. She did not understand how someone could screw up the process of making something as simple as a chocolate chip, but she kept her mouth sealed and dealt with it nonetheless.

Piper was a chef, who could have prepared something way more appealing to the eye and way more delicious to the tongue with little to no exertion, and yet, she was simply standing by as the redhead transformed her kitchen into the remains of a battlefield.

Every. Single. Day.

Though in all honesty, as much as she preferred her kitchen in its flawless state, it wasn't exactly yesterday's explosion that caused her to be angry with Paige. It was the simple fact that it wasn't _**her**_ cooking greeting Chris upon his arrival during the nights.

Yes, Piper Halliwell was jealous of her sister, as ridiculous as it sounded. Somehow she was sure that Chris could tell the difference between a meal prepared by his mother and his aunt, and Piper simply dreaded the possibility he would leave the cookies untouched if he noticed that difference.

And he _**would**_ recognize her cooking, that is, unless Paige's cooking skills magically multiplied sometime in the future. The occasionally egg- and sugar-bathed kitchen ceiling most definitely didn't suggest such drastic changes anytime soon though, so with no real options left, Piper quietly settled for observing as her son voicelessly kept in touch with her youngest sister. After all, the fact that Chris was at least giving them a sign of life every now and then was better than not hearing anything about him at all, even if the reassuring gesture wasn't exactly aimed at her.

But still, this distant form of communication wasn't enough for Piper, not by a long shot. How could it be?

Phoebe told them about her last conversation with the young Halliwell, and Piper couldn't claim she didn't understand where Chris was coming from. He didn't want them to like him just because he was family, and in some very twisted way, it made sense. But still, he shouldn't keep on going with his life while thinking his own mother hated him, because she most definitely did not. Things were complicated, yes, but by no means did she hate him. It was just her frustration with the horrible news he brought from the future, and her stupid, ever so stupid inability to accept that she would fail as a mother, and the fact that her failure apparently caused a freaking _**war, **_and that her children's life was threatened, and…

And well, yeah. Things were rather complicated indeed.

It's been already two weeks since the last time she tried to call for Chris, and almost a month since she last saw him. She made a few futile attempts to invite him over for Christmas, but receiving no response she finally gave in to Phoebe's advice, and decided to leave him alone for the time being.

Again.

New Year's Eve was not any less lethargic for the family than Christmas had been, though Piper found some comfort in her husband's more and more frequent presence in the Manor. She noticed that even Paige got tired of sending angry glares at her after a while, and she reached the point when she was willing to stay in the room when either Piper or Leo entered. It seemed like the youngest Charmed One's worries about Chris didn't allow her to stay visibly angry with the rest of her family any longer.

Somewhere between Piper's heated attempts to scrub and clean the hell out of all the surfaces of the Manor that fell within her reach, Leo managed to share his suspicions about Chris getting to the demons they were supposed to vanquish first. The sisters were surprised initially, but they had to admit that the theory would explain the lack of demonic disturbance in their home since the 'Witch Wars' case. That, along with Paige spending most of her time at her temp jobs, Phoebe's career on track and Leo's return to the house resulted in Piper's life becoming almost… normal for a while.

But as usual, normality flees quickly from your grasp when you happen to be one of the most powerful witches of your era.

"Phoebe! Paige! Leo!" Piper's shouts from the attic managed to make both sisters jump, sensing the urgency behind the anxious voice. Deciding that orbing was the most plausible way to get to their destination, Paige grabbed the other witch and disappeared in a blue light, her coffee left forgotten on the kitchen table.

Piper was turning the pages of the Book of Shadows frantically when they appeared beside her, and Paige quickly checked the room for any possible threats. She relaxed a bit when she didn't spot anything that indicated they were in direct danger; not even Wyatt's usual blue shield was visible around the playpen he was residing in.

"Piper?" the Empath tried to get her sister's attention, to no avail. "What happened? Was there an attack?"

"He shimmered out. Leo!" shouted Piper again, not tearing her gaze from the pages she was scanning with alarmingly rapid speed.

"So there _**was**_ an attack," concluded Paige, but she didn't succeed in getting the oldest witch to focus on them either.

"Yes," Piper quickly provided, getting frustrated with not finding the entry she was looking for, "and he shimmered out. Leo, your son needs you!"

Bluish particles filled the air upon the Elder's arrival, and he looked around with wide eyes as soon as he fully materialized. Taking in the scene he immediately went to pick up Wyatt, relieved to see all of her relatives unharmed.

"What's going on?" he asked in a wary tone, apparently infected by Piper's nervousness.

"We don't know," offered Paige with an apologetic shrug of her shoulders. "Your wife just decided to go haywire on us."

"I already told you!" Piper cut in, obviously distressed from not being able to get her point through. "He shimmered out!"

"Okay sweetie," tried the Empath, "the demon shimmered out, we get that, but we will need a bit more infor—"

"Not the demon! He just—Ach!" the oldest sister slammed the book shut and started to pace impatiently while gathering the words that would provide a better explanation for the happenings. "Two demons shimmered in," she finally uttered, "Chris took one out, but—"

"Wait, Chris was here?" Phoebe gasped, though Leo and Paige didn't look any less surprised at the discovery.

"Yes, but that's not the point—"

"So one of the demons is already dead right?" This time it was Paige who cut her off, always the first to recover from the shock of unexpected news. "Looks like a normal attack to me, we just have to find out who they were, and then—"

"No Paige, he _**shimmered**_!" Piper insisted, but the look on the faces of her sisters clearly said they thought she was mental.

"Right, he _**shimmered**_, we get that. That's a common way of transportation among demons, you know," stated Paige with a roll of her eyes, but Piper was in no mood to tolerate her sarcasm.

"Not the demon! Chris!"

"What's up with Chris?" Leo decided to join the now completely chaotic discussion.

"He shimmered!"

"Okay, I'm officially lost," the Empath sighed, "Who shimmered where?"

"Chris did, when—" Piper tried to clarify, but the confusion only increased on the sisters' faces before the Elder decided to interrupt her again.

"Wait, Chris did _**what**_?"

"_**Who**_ did _**what**_?"

"CHRIS SHIMMERED!"

A relatively long silence followed Piper's outburst, each of those present silently processing the information they were given. One thing was for sure, Christopher Perry obviously had way, way more to hide than what they initially presumed.

"Well, that's convenient."

"Paige!" Piper scolded her sister, unable to grasp how possessing a demonic power was in any way beneficial for her son.

"Relax Piper, I'm not saying it's a good thing," the redhead clarified quickly. "I'm just saying shimmering can come in handy for…" she paused, suddenly unsure of how to finish the sentence without making Piper completely lose her mind. "…for someone like him." Okay, not her best save.

"What do you mean by 'someone like him'?" the oldest witch narrowed her eyes, and Phoebe sent a warning glare at Paige, letting her know she was walking on thin ice when the topic of their nephew got mixed with Piper's temper. Sadly enough, Paige was still far from caring about the fits her oldest sister threw when something was said about Chris she didn't like to hear.

"Really, Piper? Have you even noticed how the kid spends most of his free time around demons? I'd say one is bound to pick up some extra power when they are practically _**living**_ in the Underworld," she explained with the utmost calm, ignoring Leo's sharp intake of breath and only raising a questioning eyebrow at the Empath's defeated sigh. "What? Honestly, with all his demonic contacts I'm surprised he doesn't bear all the powers of the Source yet."

"He might." The surprising, yet quiet admission came from the Elder, and even though he tried to force a smile for the squealing child in his arms, the adults could clearly see the pain written in his expression. "We wouldn't know, would we?"

Paige turned to her oldest sister, and despite her previously problematic attitude towards Chris's parents, she knew she wouldn't be able to bear the sight that greeted her in Piper's eyes any longer.

"No," Piper cast her eyes down in shame, sorrow evident in her shaky voice. "No, we wouldn't."

With one more glance to the expression on her sister, Paige decided she has finally had enough.

It was about time to take matters into her own hands.

…

"Derek," Chris nodded politely at the warlock, hoping to find a new source of information in the white-haired man. "Derek Grey," he added, throwing in the first surname his brain associated with the strange man.

Cole watched the exchange quietly, waiting for his turn in the introductions. He and Chris were sitting in the demon bar for almost an hour before their prey decided to show up, and he grew rather bored during that time. Listening to demons bragging about their insignificant accomplishments has never interested him, but the kid insisted on staying, claiming the bar was the only place their target visited daily. It took a while, but of course, Chris had been proven right again.

"Tirup," the demon uttered, and grabbed his glass to take a sip of his drink. "Former leader of the Novicus," he added proudly instead of providing a last name.

So they were making impressions with titles now, huh?

Good. Cole could do that.

"Cole Turner," he stated lightly upon the expecting look of the warlock, and carried on as an evil grin formed on his face. "Former Source of all Evil."

"Former wha—" was all the wide-eyed demon could utter before he was out cold, knocked down by the young Witchlighter. Luckily they were sitting at a rather secluded table, so nobody paid them any attention when they shimmered into an empty cave, dragging an unconscious warlock along.

"Did you really have to do that?" Chris narrowed his eyes at his uncle's actions, but his disapproving expression didn't manage to clear the smug grin off of the demon's face.

"Absolutely."

"You know," Chris paused for a second while fastening the ropes around the warlock's wrists, "this really would be easier if you could just stick to your role for once."

Cole suddenly felt confused by the Halliwell's manners, unsure where the kid's attitude came from. He didn't usually mind when their plan took a slightly different turn than they expected; most of their missions mainly consisted of improvisation anyway.

Chris twiddled with fastening the ropes around the warlock's limbs for a minute, his features forming an angry scowl. He never got irritated for no apparent reason, so Cole could only guess that whatever managed to tick him off must have happened during those few minutes when he orbed out before breakfast, claiming there was something he needed to take care of. It wasn't unusual for him to disappear every now and then, so Cole never gave too much thought to where he went those times… that is, until now.

"Release me!" they heard the warlock's groan as soon as he came around, realizing he was tied up, unable to move any parts of his body except for his head.

"Something the matter, kid?" Cole questioned the Halliwell, not paying any attention to their victim, who was busy trying to get out of the bondage.

"Can we just get over with this already?" Chris decided to shrug off the demon's inquiry. "We have many places to be today."

"RELEASE ME!"

"Where were you this morning?" Cole addressed the Witchlighter again, not fazed by the persistent shouting the warlock engaged himself in. His nephew, on the other hand, seemed to be rather irritated with the noise.

"Would you please, _**please**_ keep it down?" Chris shot a death glare to the screaming man, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he turned towards Cole once more. "How about we discuss that after we're done here? I don't feel like keeping up with his shit longer than necessary," he finished while motioning in the direction of the warlock.

"I told you to RELEA—"

"And I told you to shut-the-fuck-up!" Chris growled, making Cole wince at the unexpected raise of his voice. The boy's right hand formed a fist, knuckles whitening as he telekinetically squeezed Tirup's throat. The warlock's eyes widened in realization as he gasped for air in vain, but there was little he could do under the power of the half-breed.

"Chris, I think our dear friend here will need his airways intact if we wish to interrogate him."

The Witchlighter didn't seem to hear his uncle, and Cole released an exasperated breath before addressing him again.

"Stop choking the demon, Chris."

The commanding tone of the ex-Source had its effect, as Chris released his grip on the warlock, instantly sending him into a coughing fit.

"I…" the wide-eyed young man started, trying his best to find an explanation for his behavior. After a few moments of intensive search in his vocabulary he let his head hang in shame, uttering the only coherent thought he could form. "I'm sorry."

And there he stood, an insecure version of the typically over-confident Chris Halliwell that Cole rarely had a chance to study. He was so used to see the boy persuading demons to co-operate with ease, interrogating warlocks without as much as a flinch, and performing more vanquishes on a day than he could count, that he sometimes forgot Chris was in fact… well, just a boy.

And right now, he was a very worn out, very guilty looking boy.

"You look like shit," Cole stated, earning a familiar snort from the young Whitelighter.

"Why, thank you," he replied, quite light-heartedly compared to his previous manners. He shifted uncomfortably under Cole's studying gaze, debating about whether he should spill the reason behind his foul mood right now or wait until after they were done with their current task. The ex-Source had no plans of waiting though, so he gestured for Chris to ignore their wide-eyed hostage and go on.

"I'm listening."

"I know what you're looking for," the warlock interrupted the conversation, obviously keen on getting out of the restraints as soon as possible. The Halliwell crossed his arms while taking a step towards the man, and Cole saw some of Chris' momentarily forgotten confidence return.

"I don't remember asking you to speak up just yet," he emphasized the last words, and after sending a meaningful glare to the demon he turned to Cole. He paused for a second, half-expecting to be interrupted again, but their guest apparently decided against getting another sip of the Witchlighter's powers. "I went to the Manor earlier."

Miraculously enough, Cole managed to suppress the dramatic sigh that threatened to escape his lungs, and forced a carefully emotionless mask on his features. Chris had been to the Manor. Figures. Who else could have possibly worked up his nephew as much as the Halliwells, after all?

"We didn't fight," the boy added quickly, sensing Cole's suspicions. "We didn't even talk. I just dropped in for a quick vanquish, actually. It was only Wyatt supposed to be there, but Piper obviously became a morning person again sometime during the last month," Chris rolled his eyes, remembering how convenient it was when he didn't have to fear stumbling upon a conscious version of his mother before noon just a few weeks ago. "It's just that… I didn't see her since…"

"Since Mayra died." Cole provided, not quite used to this unsure version of his nephew. His sentences never lacked consistency before, and the way he fidgeted at the mention of his mother didn't escape the demon either.

"Y-yeah. I didn't think it would—"

"I knew Mayra," the demon added quickly, sensing the opportunity of being useful to his captors – or at least of pretending to be useful until he found the means of his escape.

"You might have, but I still can't recall addressing you in any way," Chris retorted, letting a bit of his annoyance slip into his tone.

"I can tell you who—"

"Fancy another go?" he asked while raising his fist again, but Cole knew the motion only served as a threat this time. A threat that worked brilliantly, as the warlock shook his head vehemently before dropping his gaze to the ground.

"I know who hired her," Tirup still added in a low, barely audible voice, trying to sound as sincere as his current state enabled.

"Lie," Chris uttered, putting so much venom in that single word that the warlock cringed and decided not to push his luck any further.

Cole wondered a lot about Chris' ability to tell whether someone was telling the truth or not. The kid was practically a human lie detector. He didn't seem to dwell on the person's expression or body language; he could tell every single lie apart instinctively as soon as they had been uttered. The ex-Source first thought it was due to his telepathy, but Chris took a repressing potion to that particular power weeks ago, claiming it was becoming too much to bear now that he was sharing an apartment with someone.  
Cole has always been good at reading people – hence his former job as an attorney – but catching false statements could prove to be quite the task with someone who was experienced at deception. While Chris was a pretty decent actor, Cole could pick up on more and more of his little white lies these days, yet he just couldn't figure out his nephew's method of detecting untruths no matter how hard he tried. At some point he even thought it was just a bluff to throw the demons off at the interrogations, but the confidence behind his words seemed anything but artificial.

"Let me get this straight," Cole tried to clear up the reason behind Chris' anxiety, making a mental note to ask him about the lies later. "You run into Piper, but didn't talk to her." He waited for a moment until Chris nodded in confirmation. "What made you so worked up then?"

The young man let out a tired sigh, and the demon sensed that whatever he was about to say would surely cause him only more of those damned nightmares.

"I was supposed to vanquish two Parasite demons… they went after Wyatt, and…"

Oh well. Cole grasped the idea before his dear nephew could even voice it, and the situation Chris presumably got himself into suddenly seemed less than ideal indeed. Parasite demons were famous for their ability of detecting the traces of a rather distinct method of transportation…

Orbing.

They are attracted to orbs and react to them rather quickly, so the number one rule when chasing a Parasite demon is to avoid orbing at all costs, unless you wish to become the prey instead of the hunter.

"So, you shimmered," the demon guessed immediately, only to be proven right with another curt nod a moment later.

Great. The normality-obsessed, Piper 'keep your dark magical self away from my children' Halliwell had just witnessed her own son using an undeniably demonic power. As much as he wanted to reassure the boy, Cole could already see that this wasn't going to be an easy round.

"It's just a means of transportation, Chris. No need to fret about it."

"Yeah, tell her that."

"I bet you didn't even wait for her reaction."

"I didn't _**have**_ to."

The demon knew Chris was right. Piper might not have said anything to him, but her expression must have spoken volumes about her feelings regarding the demonic ability the Witchlighter possessed. Yet, after the treatment she greeted the time-traveller with, did she really have any right to judge?

"Well, you could always try to, let's see… oh, I know! How about actually stop avoiding her and _**explain**_ yourself?"

While Cole knew that the current relationship between Chris and the rest of the Halliwells wasn't mainly his nephew's fault, he also suspected that the poor communication the Witchlighter provided didn't help the matters either. He wasn't sure where his irrational need of reconciling the kid with his family came from, but he wasn't a fan of how Chris cringed at every mention of his yet-to-be mother, and even though the demon wasn't fancying the idea of meeting the sisters anytime soon, he just couldn't keep watching the silent turmoil his nephew seemed to be wrapped up in.

Yet, as it was expected, all his attempts to make the boy consider the possibility of talking to the witches fell on deaf ears so far.

"I don't need her approval," Chris' shoulder's tensed, but his protest sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than his uncle.

"Could have fooled me..." the older man muttered under his breath, unable to conceal the slight amusement in his voice.

"I don't care what she thinks."

"Good for you."

"I. Do. Not."

"Right," Cole mumbled, trying to remember why on Earth he was so set on easing the tension between Chris and the sisters again. It wasn't like he would get much out of it personally, and Piper surely wouldn't believe he was actually on _**her**_ side in the matter either. Hell, _**he**_ himself hardly believed he was the one to encourage the development of a peace making process. There used to be a lot of verbs associated with the name Cole Turner and what he'd done to others: jailing people, despising them, even killing them at some point… But initiating peace offerings? That just didn't go well with his usual actions.

"I won't just go there and play nice simply because I—" Chris started his reasoning again but halted just as abruptly, drawing the gaze of both of the present demons to himself. "Paige is calling me," he stated after just a bit of hesitation, but there was an almost unnoticeable hint of fear written in the confused expression that settled on his face.

During the last few weeks Chris heard Piper and Phoebe calling out his name numerous times; hell, even Leo tried his luck at one point. Paige however remained passive, deciding to leave him cookies in the attic instead of shouting his name in the hope of an actual answer. She was the most reasonable among the sisters, knowing he would show up when – and if – he felt like it, so hearing her voice in his head struck him quite as a surprise. Her tone was not urgent or anxious by any means; it was calm, and as a matter of fact it was a tone Chris grew very accustomed to during his teenage years.

It was the tone she reserved for usually unpleasant conversations that typically began with the infamous idiom 'we need to talk'.

Needless to say, he never liked these conversations. They never ended in anything beneficial for him, to put it mildly.

"Go then," Cole prompted easily, and turned to the warlock who seemed to take no interest in the on-going discussion. "I will save you a leg," he added with a devilish smirk, but his glare grew colder when he heard Tirup murmuring something that suspiciously sounded like an insult to his mother. "If you hurry."

"I'm not going anywhere," Chris stated with a surprising lack of confidence behind his words, and when he shivered under Cole's disapproving gaze, the ex-Source finally sensed his much awaited opening.

They were having dinner – like a week ago – when it first caught the demon's attention. Chris pushed away his plate after only a few bites, claiming to be full, and while Cole would have loved to grab the meal and shove it down his throat, the reasonable part of his brain didn't allow him to do so. Chris might have been too thin for his height, yes, but no matter how childish he could act sometimes, he was still an adult who was responsible for his own actions and well-being. So instead of giving in to his instincts and force-feeding the stubborn boy, Cole settled for sending a harsh glare into his direction.

It was a look that actually had lost a lot of its edge during the time he was married to Phoebe; it managed to make most of his opponents back down in a fight, but as expected, the Charmed Ones quickly developed immunity to his glare due to their stubbornness.

Imagine the demon's surprise when he saw it actually _**working**_ on the young Halliwell.

Chris stiffened for a short second before proceeding to empty his plate, frowning very much like an uncharacteristically obedient kindergartener who just got scolded for doing something terribly wrong.

That was the moment when Cole first realized he held some sort of authority over the boy.

Even though his guess about the reason behind it made the situation slightly awkward, it didn't deter the demon from liking his newfound position all the same. He always viewed authority as a certain type of power, and power was one thing he certainly understood.

Even though Cole had no wish to exercise said power over his nephew, he couldn't deny it would come in handy on occasions as a replacement to begging –which he never did and never would do anyway, mind you. It was just that he hasn't had the opportunity to test the limits of his authority on the kid so far, and since the prospect showed up all on its own this time… who was he to refuse such an easily obtained opportunity?

"Christopher," he started in a dangerously low tone, and had to stifle his grin upon the Halliwell's reaction. Cole wasn't sure if it was the usage of his name or the warning tone escorting it, but it managed to make the Witchlighter draw in his horns immediately.

It was only when the wide-eyed kid spoke up that he registered something was off.

"Don't call me that."

This time Chris' words didn't form a command or a helpful instruction as to what Cole was used to by now. The sentence came out as a quiet plea, and for a reason unknown even to him, the demon swore to never using the younger man's full name again. He wasn't going to give up with his little experiment now, but whatever he hoped to achieve by it most certainly wasn't the 'lost child' look he was currently facing.

"Chris," Cole corrected himself against his better judgment, and had to refrain from clearing his throat before carrying on. "You will have to face them sooner or later."

"Later."

"Chris…"

"It's probably just Piper forcing her to call me."

Cole couldn't argue with that. The Halliwell matriarch's world has been more than likely head over heels since she saw her son shimmering into the Manor, and the concept of her forcing Paige to call him in order to get some answers didn't seem so far-fetched according to Cole.

But he wasn't going to be the one to give up. If reason couldn't win the argument…

"You will talk to them, Chris. Now."

…Then force would.

Much to his surprise, the kid didn't even try to argue further. He only ran his hand through his brown locks a few times – a sign of nervousness that Cole was highly familiar with – and scanned the walls of the cave with his eyes, almost as if he was hoping to find a solution to his problem written there.

"But… what am I even going to tell them?" he shivered, not fancying the idea of another awkward encounter with the witches who were supposed to be his family. "They won't like the explanation to the shimmering."

Cole raised a curious eyebrow at that.

"I thought you weren't going for their approval."

Chris dwelled on the words for a minute. His uncle was right. So what if he didn't meet the requirements to be Piper's and Leo's ever so perfect progeny? It wasn't like he actually needed them to be on his side.

'_It would be nice, though.'_

And wrong. So terribly wrong it hurt.

"They will want answers I can't give them…"

"Don't tell them everything they want to hear," the demon switched to a less serious tone, and the slight quirk of the corner of his mouth even passed a wave of calmness onto his nephew. "Tell them what they _**need**_ to hear."

How one could simplify an issue that his mind only seemed to over-complicate for the past few weeks constantly, Chris would never know. But Cole's advice reminded him so much of the man he adored and looked up to all his life, that it gave him the courage needed to face his family, even if it meant going against his own instincts. If Cole Turner believed he could do it, then he wasn't going to disappoint.

"Hey, kid," the ex-Source called out before Chris could orb out of the cave, sensing his confidence returning at once. The Witchlighter settled his gaze at the smirk that was slowly but surely over-taking his uncle's sharp features, and he could already tell that his final words would be less than thoughtful towards his situation. "If I were you, I wouldn't make them want to kill me before my conception date, though."

Chris actually felt himself relax at the easy-going manner his uncle presented him with, and set off with a confidence he hadn't felt in a while when it came to his family. He didn't thank him, but that didn't mean he wasn't grateful.

It simply wasn't needed, not between the two of them.

"Now," Cole turned to the warlock after the kid dissipated in bright blue orbs, an evil glint appearing in his icy-blue eyes, smirk widening into a determined, almost cruel expression. "I recall you claim to have known my mother, correct?"

…

_Hi there! I've been working on this chapter for quite a while, rewriting and rewriting it several times until my friend said that was enough. And it still turned out to be kind of a filler, leading to the next main event. :D But many of you (well, practically all of you :D ) were asking for more Chris-Cole interactions, so there you go, hope I didn't disappoint._

_I was very surprised when I didn't receive a single complaint about Cole's character, but I was so happy you found him IC that now I'm even more nervous to keep him that way. :D Receiving reviews even after so much time really means a lot to me, and I noticed this story got like 50 new followers since the last update. And yeah, that's kind of a HUGE thing for me. :) _

_So thank you all for your reviews, your constant support and your patience! You're all great. :)_

_And many many __thanks for my beta, __Cheerpup1392 for the help!_

_*Oh, and I've written a Chris-centric one-shot which will be uploaded in a few days, and I also decided to submit the dark future fic featuring an evil Chris (muhaha), since the first 3-4 chapters of that one have been sitting on my hard disc for almost two years now. Yeah, shame on me, I know.*_


	14. Chapter 14

'_This isn't right,' _Phoebe kept on repeating to herself, quickening her steps as the dreadful feeling in her gut grew stronger and stronger with each passing second. _'This isn't right. This cannot be right,' _she panicked, but forced a suspiciously wide smile on her face upon entering the sitting room.

The sight that greeted her rendered the witch speechless instantly, despite the fact that she was having a rather heated conversation with her sisters just mere moments ago. _'God, this isn't right!'_

He was there.

Chris Halliwell was actually sitting on a couch in the Halliwell Manor, studying the sunrays coming through the window as if he didn't have a care in the world. He seemed to remain blissfully ignorant to the shouting that was currently taking place in the kitchen, completely absorbed in the scenery.

Phoebe took a deep breath and took a few, careful steps in his direction, afraid to set him running with only as much as an unintentional sudden movement. Unsure how to get his attention without scaring him away she stood there for a minute awkwardly, then took a deep, anxious breath and greeted her nephew…

For the second time that day.

"Hi there," she uttered as softly as she could, not letting the strained smile leave her features. Chris raised his head curiously, and upon noticing the Empath he returned the greeting with an uncharacteristically warm smile of his own.

Phoebe suddenly felt like yelling. No matter how hard she tried to rationalize what led to the current situation, a contently smirking Chris sitting on their couch was the least possible outcome she expected from the events when he materialized in the attic more than an hour ago. _'This. Just. Isn't. __**Right**__!' _shefelt her alarms going off with full force, and tip-toed around an armchair to take a seat in front of the oblivious young man.

The Empath found herself at a loss of words for the hundredth time today. It wasn't an everyday occasion that they got a visit from her nephew anyway, but the happenings that led to him staying near them willingly – without showing the slightest sign of discomfort at that…

That was just too much of a phenomenon for her mind to justify.

And needless to say, it seemed to be too much of a miracle to simply believe as well.

_**ABOUT AN HOUR EARLIER…**_

"_Do you think we should… leave?" the Empath asked her youngest sister uncertainly, standing in the furthest corner in the attic, mainly because that was the only way for her to hear her own voice over the shouting._

"_Sure Phoebe, let's assist the murder of our sister and nephew by leaving them alone in an enclosed space," Paige replied with a roll of her eyes, but her expression grew serious as an afterthought hit her. "I wonder who would win though," she added in a curious tone._

_Phoebe didn't take the situation as light-heartedly as her sister did though, and her eyes widened at the thought of her relatives actually hurting each other during their fight. "You think they would actually… get physical?" she finished anxiously, trying to soften the concept of Paige's implication with her choice of words._

"_Are you kidding me?" the redhead shot an incredulous look at the older witch, but refocused her attention to the ongoing spat just in time to see Piper raising her hand threateningly while Chris pointed his finger furiously at her. "They'd skin each other alive."_

_The two youngest Halliwell sisters watched in awe as the fight between Piper and Chris got more and more carried away with each uttered sentence, too intimidated by the angry voices to dare and interrupt. Having learnt their lesson from their last encounter with the young Witchlighter, they made Leo leave with Wyatt for obvious reasons a bit earlier, as one could never predict what would happen if an angry Chris got mixed with a miserable and desperate Piper._

_Phoebe couldn't honestly say she didn't see the fight coming. Less than twenty minutes ago Chris actually decided to answer Paige's call, and he arrived in a mood that suggested he was finally ready to listen to reason. But as usual, the oldest Charmed One's temper couldn't tolerate his stubborn dismissing attitude for long, and chaos rapidly ensued from the initially peaceful conversation. _

_Paige made the Empath back up and let the tension work itself out between mother and son, but even though Phoebe knew the fight was needed in order to get a step ahead, she still had difficulties to stay still as Piper and Chris basically shouted their lungs out with all they've got. It was probably the ugliest and most terrifying row she ever witnessed, and having to deal with demons on a daily basis that was saying something._

"_Well, at least they are communicating," tried Paige, growing tired of the startled expression on her sister's face. "They need this," she added quietly, trying to reassure herself just as much as the Empath. Paige knew very well that the confrontation between those two would stir up some trouble, but obviously, she was hoping for a more peaceful solution to their problems as well. _

"**Then let me understand, Chris! How can you expect me to get it if you never explain—"**

"_How long do you think this will go on?" Phoebe asked her sister worriedly, not liking the way the opponents started to gesture wildly, as if it would help to get their point through._

"_Why, do you have anything else to do besides babysitting them?"_

"**I didn't come here to explain things you don't even need to know Piper, and I most certainly do not—"**

"_I wish we had some popcorn."_

"_Paige!"_

"_What? I'm hungry."_

"…**hurt to answer my calls every now and then? Last time I checked you were still our Whitelighter and—"**

"_I think I just heard one of them saying 'please'," Phoebe cocked her head up at hearing the unexpected phrase, hoping against hope they would direct the conversation to a topic that would involve more of such polite expressions, and less of the endless accusations and hurtful insults that seemed to be the main theme now._

"…**none of them was an emergency, otherwise Leo would have—"**

"_I'm afraid 'please' doesn't count above a certain volume, Phoebe."_

"**It's not about emergencies Chris! I was worried sick about you! You know very well that—"**

"_Don't you think we should call Leo?"_

"_I fail to see how _**he**_ could be of any help here," stated Paige, but the thought of letting the Elder sort this whole quarrel out became more and more appealing as her migraine started to get worse. "Except for maybe letting him orb them to different continents."_

"…**am NOT A CHILD, PIPER! I can take care of myself just fine!"**

"**But I am still your MOTHER AND I HAVE—"**

"**YOU DENIED THAT QUITE HEATEDLY NOT SO LONG AGO!"**

"_Planets," Paige corrected herself quietly, "Different continents won't do here."_

_Despite Phoebe's expectations, Piper didn't let the impact of Chris' words to reach her. Her determination to get through to him didn't falter, and to be honest, it wasn't even the ugliest thing said during the last twenty minutes. If she was hurt – and the Empath could feel she was – her momentary fury didn't let her sadness surface._

"**I didn't mean that! You KNOW I didn't mean—"**

"**Oh, good, because that MAKES IT ALL RIGHT!"**

"**I wasn't even fully CONSCIOUS for Heaven's sake! I would never say something like that, and—"**

_And the battle didn't end there. Shouted accusations of being ignorant, annoying, impossible, thickheaded, irrational and stubborn from both parts were escorted with a couple of angrily cried sorries from Piper – which weren't any different in tone or volume than the rest of the fight._

_Phoebe was fidgeting nervously as the shouting kept on going, and Paige settled for trying to will away the hurt in her ears from the constant assault. She was ready to supply a remark concerning whatever was being said, but the tension in the attic soon seemed to reach its peak, and the sudden heaviness of the uttered words made Paige swallow whatever comments she might have had regarding the fight._

"…**because I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE! I just… I just wish you would…" Piper trailed off, not really knowing what to say all of a sudden. There wasn't much that hasn't been said already, and nothing seemed to bring them closer to reach an understanding so far.**

"**If I would be what, Piper? If I would be more like Wyatt? Or if I would be less annoying and more of a person you'd want to have in your family? If I would be WHAT, Piper?"**

"**If you would just start acting like family!"**

_Phoebe and Paige both raised their heads when they didn't hear Chris' answer immediately. It wasn't the most meaningful sentence uttered during the persistent shouting, but for some reason, Piper's tone apparently put an end to the endless list of accusations._

**Both Piper and Chris seemed slightly short of breath, panting for a minute or two before regaining their composure. Apparently shouting on the top of your lungs for half an hour was more exhausting than one would initially presume.**

**As the pause in their yelling lengthened, the angry lines on Chris' features slowly but surely softened, and Piper sensed an opening to try and talk to him in a more civilized manner.**

"**Listen Chris, I know I can't force you to…" the witch stopped, deciding to make her apologies once again before asking for her son's forgiveness. "I know that what I've done was wrong. I know that you didn't deserve… any of what I've put you through. And yes, I admit that I wasn't happy when I discovered you were related to me, but not because of you, Chris! I was angry with **_myself_**! For… for how I treated you! The thought of actually not wanting you to be my son never even crossed my mind, you have to believe—"**

"**Piper…"**

"**No, please let me finish… I know that I have no right to ask—"**

"**You're right."**

"…**to tell us any more than…" Piper paused again, sucking in a deep breath as Chris's words registered in her brain. "I'm… I'm what?"**

"_Wait, she's what?" asked the two younger sisters in unison in the background._

**The possibility of her son's words carrying a sarcastic undertone crossed Piper's mind a moment too late, but her already rising hopes weren't crushed as usual, since Chris seemed to be sincere when he next spoke up.**

"**I said you're right," he repeated, suddenly finding the floor the most worthy sight in the room to occupy his interest. "I shouldn't have disappeared like that. I didn't mean to make you worry…"**

_Phoebe and Paige were staring at the suddenly shy-looking man, dumbstruck and doubtful at the same time. They couldn't believe they just heard Chris practically _**apologizing**_ – and with a tone that apparently held no malice or cynicism at that._

_No. Something must have been wrong here..._

"_**I'm sorry Piper. It won't happen again."**_

Terribly_ wrong._

…

Phoebe couldn't believe she had witnessed that scene even now.

An hour had passed since a new debate had started between the sisters in the kitchen, leaving Chris waiting for them until they came to a conclusion. The Empath got tired of not getting anywhere with Piper and decided to try her luck with her nephew instead, but despite knowing Chris would be in the sitting room, she still got surprised at his presence when she spotted him.

But well, who could blame her? The picture was just so wrong. Chris sitting on the couch with a completely relaxed posture, indicating he's completely at ease with his surroundings…

He must have been sitting in the same spot numerous times during his life, yet Phoebe couldn't help but feel like he was just a guest there currently. A distant cousin at best, who dropped in while he happened to be in town, or a rarely seen friend who came over for a cup of coffee after work to catch up.

Only that Chris waited for their return patiently for much longer than any guest or friend would.

'_This isn't right.'_

Phoebe felt the conflict slowly eating her mind up, but remained unable to find its origin, let alone its possible solution.

The Chris she saw in the attic apologized, but at the same time, the Chris she knew would never do that. And why would he, really? It was _**them**_ who owed him an apology, not the other way around….

This surely was only some kind of joke.

But why was he still here then?

Maybe the apology wasn't sincere after all.

But he seemed _**so**_ honest…

"So, Chris," she started, set on letting the cat out of the bag before the situation turned for the worse. Hell, she would chase that cat for miles if she had to. "You're saying you… you forgive us, right?" she lowered her voice, making sure Piper doesn't hear her. The oldest sister seemed to be the only one who genuinely believed Chris came around just like that, and Phoebe didn't want to be the one to crush her hopes.

Because they surely would be crushed in a bit… wouldn't they?

"Well, you are my family, and Piper's right. I have to start acting like it sooner or later."

Phoebe's eyes widened at the yet again unexpected answer. Just what on Earth was happening to her nephew? Was he under a spell? A curse? The effects of a potion perhaps? Or was he simply having a fever?

On a quick impulse she pushed her palm flat against his forehead, half-expecting to have a few broken bones after Chris realized what she was doing. His response was only a confused raise of an eyebrow though, and Phoebe let go of him with a surprised expression.

"You're not sick."

She realized a heartbeat too late that her words came out in a rather dumb manner, and Chris didn't even try to hide his amusement.

He chuckled.

Chris Perry actually chuckled.

Phoebe's eyes were like saucers as she witnessed the small display of Chris' _**human**_ side, feeling ashamed for still thinking of him as her workaholic Whitelighter in a way. Her dumbfound expression only served to amuse the boy further though, and he let out a short laugh at the witch's speechless form.

"Really, Aunt Phoebe, why would I be sick?"

'_Oh. Dear. __**God**__.'_

Alarms went off rapidly in the Empath's mind with renewed force as she tried to process the way Chris addressed her.

_**Aunt**_ Phoebe.

She'd be lying if she said she never imagined the words leave Chris' mouth, and she always felt fluttered when her fantasies of him becoming a real part of her family played out quietly on the back of her eyelids. She thought she wouldn't care about the circumstances under which he'd declare her to be his aunt, but the current situation simply felt wrong. So very, very wrong.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked uncertainly, almost expecting him to drop dead at any given second.

"I'm fine," he reassured with a smile. "I rarely get sick naturally anyway. The perks of having Elder-blood I guess," he added with an almost uncaring shrug of his shoulders.

Phoebe was initially taken aback by the openness he was willing to talk to her with, but at his last words a plan was already forming in the back of her mind… _'Chasing the cat…'_

"Oh, right, you're half part Elder. I almost forgot," she said as another constrained smile formed on her features, but the suspicion behind her gaze never registered in Chris' mind.

"Well, technically I'm not. Being an Elder is more like a… a position. A rank, if you will," he explained, and Phoebe had to put her hand under her chin in order to prevent her jaw form falling. Since when was Chris Perry so eager on sharing… well, any kind of information with them? "It's something that has to be earned, not something that can be passed down genetically."

Phoebe managed to nod curtly in her awe, not allowing herself to get side-tracked of her original plan. She had to try and snap Chris out of this… well, of this _**whatever**_ that has happened to him sometime during the last hour. Her idea about bringing his father to the conversation was a risky one, as he would surely react badly to Leo's name, but what choice did she have at this point? She didn't think she would ever say that, but right now she'd rather have an angry, shouting Chris sitting across from her than the current version of her nephew. There were just so many things off with him right now that it scared her to no end.

"So, you didn't inherit any of those Elder powers that Leo has now?" she asked breathlessly, trying hard not to put any emphasis on the name of her brother-in-law. She wasn't exactly sure what reaction to expect, but it most definitely wasn't the mischievous smirk the young man presented her with.

"Well, I can jingle."

The Empath blinked a few times before realizing her plan wasn't going to work. She managed to let out a pained chuckle, but her eyes became more and more scared with each passing moment.

Chris wasn't angry. He wasn't shouting like she expected he would, and he didn't even flinch at the topic of his father.  
He wasn't running around chasing demons, and he wasn't even babbling about how they absolutely had to change the future right now.  
He wasn't repeating the words 'future consequences' like a broken record, and he wasn't nervous or fidgeting.  
Chris wasn't being moody, and he didn't resemble his usual neurotic self by the slightest.  
He was sharing personal information willingly, and he wasn't running from her inquiries as if he had been burnt by fire.

He was calling her Aunt Phoebe.

The symptoms didn't explain this sudden change of behavior of course, but as the witch summarized them silently, she came to the conclusion that somewhere along his fight with Piper, Chris simply stopped being… _**Chris**_.

'_This must be a curse. Or some kind of personality altering spell… Maybe… There must be something about it in the Book. Yes, we just have to check the Book! We can deal with this,'_ Phoebe attempted to calm herself, but her voice was weaker than she intended when she finally spoke up.

"Right," she uttered carefully while eyeing the Witchlighter, letting the word roll off her tongue longer than necessary. "You can jingle," she smiled way too sweetly, her thoughts following one another at a rapid speed.

'_But what if it's not a spell? What if it's not even something magical?' _

"Of course you can, sweetie," she added, but her over-working brain was already supplying the most dreadful explanations to her nephew's behavior.

'_God, what if he's __**dying**__?'_

Phoebe was careful to keep the smile on her face, but inwardly she was listing the possibilities of what might have been wrong with the young man. Chris only responded to her curt sentences by raising an eyebrow in amusement, and that threw Phoebe's train of thoughts off for a short second. "Wait, you're serious?"

She never got an answer to whether Chris possessed that particular ability or not, as a widely beaming Piper and a visibly fuming Paige walked into the room, drawing the young man's attention.

Well, at least one of her sisters seemed to agree with the Empath on the matter at hand. Paige obviously didn't succeed in convincing Piper about something being off with Chris, but Phoebe couldn't say she was surprised about that the least. How could they get Piper to admit something she was obviously so eager to overlook?

"Now Chris, would you like to have something to eat?"

The question left Piper's mouth so smoothly even she was surprised at the sweetness in her own tone, and Chris' equally sweet smile didn't exactly help to clear the mental image of a rapidly closing disaster in Phoebe's mind.

'_This just isn't right…'_

…

Cole was starting to get restless.

It wasn't like he was concerned about the kid, not one bit. He was just… curious. Yes, that was the word. Curious.

Back in the morning he and Chris agreed to share lunch and then go on separate routes until sunset, having previously arranged their own meetings. Different places to be, different demons to kill. Chris wasn't one to miss a deadline or a meeting, but not even the knowledge that he'd be back soon helped Cole to get rid of his agitation.

Once more, not that he was being concerned. Maybe just slightly… jumpy.

What mood will Chris be in when he returns? Is he going to be angry? Sad? Disappointed?

Angry it is, Cole decided silently. Of course he would be angry; these are the Halliwells we're talking about. The correct question was rather just how angry will he be when he finally returns?

Cole was used to dealing with peoples' sudden mood swings. He was married to a highly emotional woman for years, who on top of that happened to be a witch with empathic powers. Now, if you mix said woman with _**that**_ time of the month… let's just say the result could get even the most battle-hardened men curl up in a ball and cry.

Yet Cole never cared about that. He knew that life wasn't always all sunshine and rainbows, and he wouldn't have it any other way. As long as he had Phoebe, some minor emotional outbursts every now and then wouldn't hold him back from being chained to her side. Being vanquished though…

Cole had first-hand experienced what human emotions were capable of. People built empires based on one single feeling, but they also destroyed whole realms because of them. A rather large part of humanity was programmed to 'listen to their hearts' instead of following logic, and despite knowing better, most of them still did not listen to their brain when it clearly told them to stop and turn around.

People had some screwed up tendency in their nature that urged them to go with their emotions, and – according to Cole's experience – emotional people had a natural tendency to screw things up majorly.

Thus the slight unease of the demon.

The members of the Halliwell clan weren't exactly famous for their… tranquility. Piper's temper was a spectacle in itself as it was, and from what he learnt in the last few weeks, Chris' manners practically became extinct as soon as a mention of his family reached his ears. To complicate the matters, Piper trampled on the kid's heart quite hard, while Chris basically declared her to be the Worst Mother of the Year by cutting off all communication with her. As far as Cole knew neither of them was the forgive-and-forget type, and people have slit each other's throat for much, much less…

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let him go alone to the Manor after all…

'_Ah, what the hell!'_

Those people were his family, not some random witches who would try and vanquish the kid if they didn't like his attitude…

'_Not that Piper hasn't tried that once already.'_

Still, Paige was there – if everything else failed she would surely intervene before things got ugly, wouldn't she?

'_She wasn't of much help when they entered his memories either…'_

Cole let out a frustrated sigh before getting up from the kitchen chair, tired of pointlessly debating with himself. After a minute he gave up on trying to find the right words that described his problem, and ever so slowly he came to a conclusion.

"I'm being ridiculous."

He made his way to the small liquor cabinet in the living room, grabbing one of the two single bottles stored on the shelves. The unopened bottle of whiskey was probably older than Chris himself, but Cole stopped paying attention to such pretenses long ago. Alcohol was good for loosening up his nerves, and he knew very well that the finest liquor wasn't any different in effect than the cheapest one he could grab at the corner store. The only reason he was willing to buy decade old bottles was the taste. He may have been forced to drink the crap they served at those demon bars Chris dragged him along to, but when he drank liquor on his own accord then the taste was something he wasn't willing to lower his standards at.

He opened the whiskey and set it down on the coffee table, intent on grabbing a glass when he caught a glimpse of the glass clock on the wall. It was barely past noon, and he suddenly felt senseless for drinking at this time of the day. He still had to interrogate a warlock after Chris returned, and God only knew how many vanquishes the kid scheduled for them before the night set in. Any man in their right mind would have put that bottle away, saying that getting drunk wouldn't make any sense in the current situation…

So – being the sensible man he was – Cole changed his mind and grabbed two glasses instead. The kid will surely need some help to loosen his nerves after an encounter with the Charmed Ones.

Cole knew he didn't have any real reason to feel anxious. None at all. It was _**him**_ who encouraged the kid to grow a pair and solve his issues with his family, and mere hours ago he even found the thought of a debate between Chris and the sisters considerably entertaining. Yet, there he was, sitting on the couch with a cordial in hand, ready to pull the kid together when he finally decided to come back licking his wounds.

'_Paige will help to sort this out for him,'_ he thought, and suddenly found a strange feeling of confidence in the younger sister of his ex-wife.

Paige has always been the least trusting and most hostile towards him; Cole was actually sure she was the first out of the sisters to applause the idea of vanquishing him. Still, the way Chris spoke about her made the demon slightly ease up towards the woman as well, as twisted as the logic in that might have sounded in his head. Paige was the only one of the Charmed Ones who knew what it was like to be an outsider in her own family, as she had her share of rejections before Piper and Phoebe fully accepted her to be their sister. Maybe that was the reason she treated Chris with more respect than the rest even before she came to learn his full name, but then again, Cole suspected that this was only part of it.

Chris was talking unreasonably about the future, and the demon gathered enough information from his stories to know the nature of his relationship with the redhead. Obviously, Paige became somewhat of a mother figure to the young man after Piper died, and though Chris hinted that they were pretty close even before that particular event, he never defined what kind of role she played in his life during his childhood. Of course, after listening to the short tales Cole had his suspicions about how Paige might have slowly edged out one of Chris' parents of her role, but that was one thing he didn't dare to directly ask the kid about. He might be an old acquaintance of the Angel of Death alright, but he knew better than to speak of Piper Halliwell as a mother who needed a substitute while still alive and breathing.

Cole's train of thoughts was disturbed by the familiar sound that usually escorted the bluish-white orbs, and it was only when Chris fully materialized that he realized he didn't even take a sip from his drink yet.

"Congratulations. You survived," he said without waiting for the boy to turn to face him, and poured some whiskey to the glass that he prepared for the Witchlighter. "Here. Drink this before you open fire on anything that's moving."

Chris turned around slowly and rested his gaze on the glass, but didn't move to accept it. His expression didn't betray his emotions, although Cole had a feeling something was going to give at any second now. When the Halliwell opened his mouth to speak, Cole was ready to counter basically anything that could have been said about the sisters. He was already inwardly listing stuff that could help the kid calm down – wise advices on how he should take a deep breath, let it all sink in, to give the damned witches some time to accept him into the family. He was ready to lie about it all being just a bad dream that would end soon, and hell, he was even going to promise him a new bicycle if that's what he needed to hear. The demon was sure that Chris could utter nothing, absolutely _**nothing**_ that he didn't have an instant comeback prepared for.

"No thanks, I think I will have something to eat instead."

"…"

It took Cole 9 seconds to realize he was still holding the glass in the air after the kid left for the kitchen, and 5 more before his brain was actually ready to let him put it down.

The kid didn't seem to be in a foul mood, and that was something he didn't expect, he had to admit.

It certainly piqued his interest.

"So I take it you didn't prevent your own conception then?" he asked innocently after entering the kitchen, watching as Chris prepared to reheat some take-out food they ordered the night before. His question was answered with a perplexed look way before the boy actually gave voice to his confusion.

"Why would I have done that?"

Uh-oh. A few hours in the care of his dear family, and the kid comes back so distracted that he forgets about how he is supposed to be the sarcastic one. Whatever happened to him since he orbed away must have been _**fun**_, Cole decided.

"Are you alright?"

"What's it with you people today? I'm _**fine**_."

The demon gave him a dubious look, not quite convinced by the charade Chris put up. He might have looked content on the surface, but Cole was sure his happy-go-marry attitude would vanish as soon as his mind returned to normal and started to over-analyze things – like it usual did. He just had to sit this one out.

"Okay. Care to tell me how did it go then?"

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yeah, good. You know, the adjective most kids learn in pre-school."

Ah. It wasn't the response Cole was hoping for, but at least the sarcasm was back. It really was just a matter of time now before the bubble got pricked.

"So you made up?" the older man asked with the most easy-going manner he could master, taking a seat next to the brown-haired Witchlighter at the kitchen table.

"Yes."

Okay, so the conversation didn't evolve at the speed he was hoping for. Maybe if he inquired enough that would give the push his dear nephew needed to spill…

"Just like that?" he asked in a tone that was half an octave higher than his usual, but the kid didn't seem to pick up on his obvious mocking.

"Well, I kind of fought with Piper for a while, but we cleared things up at the end."

Cole blinked a few times before the realization hit him. Chris had been fighting with Piper, but he wasn't showing any traces of anger afterwards. That could have only meant one thing…

"…You killed them didn't you?"

"What? No, of course I didn't—"

"You bound them to each other and hung them up on the—"

"Wha—NO, God, _**no**_, why would I have done something like that?" Chris defended himself heatedly, not realizing his unusual behavior was starting to plant the seed of suspicion in his uncle's mind.

"I don't know, maybe because you were set on making them suffer through hell just a few hours ago?"

"I was wrong okay? They are my family."

His fami—… Wait, was the kid delusional?

"Your family," Cole repeated slowly, making the words sound impossibly harsh despite their meaning.

"Are you going to repeat every second sentence I say?"

"Do I have to?" the demon narrowed his eyes, starting to enjoy the conversation less and less with each passing minute. Something was obviously off with the young man, and the fact that his strange behavior could be connected to the rest of the Halliwells didn't help to fade Cole's growing suspicion.

"Listen," Chris started as he put his fork down, ready to get into a lengthy explanation about the happenings at the Manor. "I know what I said this morning, but I was wrong. Piper said she was being worried about me all this time, and I didn't even consider—"

"And you believed her?" the ex-Source asked incredulously, not getting where this Charmed-Ones-supporting attitude was coming from. Just a little while ago the kid was considering the option of never actually talking to any member of his family again, and suddenly he was concerned about the feelings of Piper Halliwell? The same woman who dared to show dissatisfaction upon discovering he was her offspring?

No, Cole must have missed something. Chris was surely just trying to keep himself together. He was just holding something back… something large enough to delay the outburst that was about to come. There was no other explanation.

Unless…

"Why wouldn't I believe her? She's my mother. She wouldn't lie to me."

No.

No, no, _**no**_. She wouldn't dare… that would be way, way too far-stretched even from her…

"Is there a chance she put you under a spell, Chris?" Cole popped the question with as much forced calmness as he could, but thoughts about probabilities of Piper actually resorting to such methods were racing in his mind at a rapid speed.

"A spell?! She did no such thing!" Chris blurted out, feeling unreasonably defensive of the woman in question. When his uncle raised an eyebrow to sign his irritation at the volume of his voice he paused, took a deep breath and went on in a more composed manner. "We just… talked. She made me realize that I'm being childish and that I've gotta stop acting like I'm not even related to them."

No, she did _**not**_... No. Fucking. Way.

"And how did she make you realize that exactly?" the demon rubbed the bridge of his nose, but deep inside he knew that whatever Chris' next words would be, they would only fuel his frustration with the Halliwell matriarch.

"I just— She said…" the boy stopped, his furrowed brows signaling his confusion about his inability to come up with a proper answer. After a moment of hesitation he decided to go with the easy way out: diversion. "She was just being nice okay? She seemed like she really regrets what she's done and just tries to make up for it."

Cole stayed still for a moment, hoping against hope that his nephew would come to his senses and start shouting about how Piper was the most gruesome, insufferable, evilest person in the world, and how he couldn't stand even the mention of her name in one sentence with his own…

Cole waited for a minute, then for another one, but the expected outburst from Chris never came. He took a long look at the boy who was once again contently chewing on his food, and with a deep, infuriated sigh he was finally forced to admit defeat.

She did it. She dared to put her own son under a spell to make up for her faults as a parent.

"She even invited me over for dinner."

Piper Halliwell was a dead woman.

"The _**nerve**_ of that _**bitch**_!"

"Hey," Chris shot up his head at his uncle's words, but Cole was on his feet before he could finish his sentence, "you're talking about my mo—"

"You're not going back there," the demon uttered forcefully, seeing red from the anger that built up inside him towards the woman he once called his sister-in-law. Just how _**dare**_ she do something like that… after everything she put him through… and now this…

_**Really?**_

"I most certainly _**am**_, and don't even try to stop me!" Chris stood up hastily, taking a step away from his infuriated uncle. He felt an irrational need to put more distance between himself and the man, but even as his instincts screamed that Cole wasn't the enemy, his body didn't seem to respond accordingly.

"Listen to me Chris, you have to—"

"I don't have to do anything!" The kid screamed now fully in fury-mode, but before the discussion could grow into a real fight his expression lost all its anger and he cocked his head to the side, as if he was remembering something really important all of a sudden. "Except for showing up somewhere I have to be in a minute. So if you'll excuse me…"

"No, Chris, wait!"

But it was too late. Chris was surrounded by orbs before Cole could move to grab his arm, and disappeared from the penthouse without a trace.

"Shit!" Cole swore out loudly, realizing he had no way to figure out Chris' destination. The boy was extremely clever when it came to cloaking spells; not even the sisters could track him down with their scrying and summoning spells, and the fact that he managed to evade an Elder's sensing abilities for months spoke for itself.

They never informed each other about where they set up their meetings with their demonic contacts – unless they felt like they should be prepared for being overpowered and in need of the other's help. Needless to say that such predictions weren't very frequent; there was hardly a demon who could possibly outsmart Chris or surpass the abilities he inherited on his witch side, and the impressive share of active powers Cole picked up during his time in the Demonic Wasteland wasn't lost either.

So, without having any options left, Cole started to pace the room while trying to come up with a solution to this madness.

Chris was obviously under a spell. A spell carefully crafted by his mother, probably to make him see things her way. Even though Cole might have had no real knowledge of what the charm's exact effects were, the fact that Chris didn't appear to be delusional from it was quite reassuring.

'_Facts. That's it. Get your facts straight before taking a step,'_ the demon encouraged himself, and took a few, calming breaths before summarizing what he knew.

Fact number one: Chris orbed out to attend a meeting with a demon. Meaning: the boy hadn't completely lost it and still got his priorities at last partially right.

Fact number two: Chris _**orbed**_ out to attend a meeting with a demon. Meaning: even if he wasn't currently in control of all of his powers, he still possessed one that provided him the means of escape in case something went wrong.

Fact number three: Chris orbed out to attend a meeting with a _**demon**_. Meaning: Piper could shove her sorries up his ass if her spell made Chris in any way incapable of handling a creature of pure evil on his own…

No, she wouldn't put her son's life at risk for her own convenience, would she? Even she couldn't be that stupid… right?

Ah, the damned Halliwells! They just always had to have their way, hadn't they? Cole shouldn't have been surprised, really. After all, no day went by without a Warren witch sticking her nose where it didn't belong…

Only they screwed with the wrong person this time. Charmed Ones or not, Cole wasn't one to give into the witches' way without putting up a fight. If they wanted to play dirty, then so be it.

He could play dirty too.

…

Three hours had gone by painfully slowly before Chris decided to grace Cole with his presence again and re-appeared at the door of his room.

The demon was sitting at the edge of the four-poster bed with his hands folded in his lap, an expectant look occupying his face.

"You're back early."

Chris squared his shoulders when he caught a glimpse of the demon, who only raised an amused eyebrow in response. It wasn't easy to catch him off guard, but apparently his uncle could be a really sneaky bastard when he wanted to.

"Paige was calling me again," the young man started cautiously, not sure what reaction to except from Cole. "It didn't sound like an emergency, so I figured I would change before orbing over."

Cole took a good look at his nephew, but saw no apparent reason as to why a change of clothing would be needed. There was no stain or rip on his dark-grey hoodie, and his light blue jeans weren't bathed in green goo or blood either. He looked slightly sweaty, but it wasn't something he should have been bothered by when he spent most of his days chasing demons. Except if…

Was he trying to actually _**appeal**_ to Piper now by losing the clothes he barely spent half a day in?

That spell must have packed a punch.

"Why are you in my room?" Chris asked before Cole could continue his musing, but no matter how hard the kid tried to play it cool, the movements he approached the cupboard with were too tense for the demon to let it slide. Chris was expecting for him to try and stop him from leaving.

Cole smirked.

"I'm not going to stop you from going to the Manor, Chris."

The boy turned around to face him with a pair of fresh trousers in his hands, but the suspiciously glinting eyes of his uncle drew his attention from the piece of clothing quickly.

"Y-you're not?"

Cole rose from the bed with a lazy movement, but his expression practically commanded Chris to hold his gaze.

"I'm going with you."

There was a tensed silence before Chris wrapped his mind around what the ex-Source was planning. He was trying to meet his family. In Chris' presence.

Hell no.

The Halliwell relaxed his fingers around the garment and let it drop before willing himself to orb away, but apparently Cole wasn't unprepared this time. The crystal he threw at the door had been in his hand all along, carefully covered from the sight of those who happened to be distracted by God only knows what kind of spells that had been cast on them.

No matter how quick his reflexes were, Chris never stood a chance. His orbing form crushed into the crystal cage that completed the moment the last stone took its rightful place, and he was forced to re-materialize within the circle he was suddenly ever so desperate to leave.

By the time the last sparkles of his orbs died down Cole was already gripping his arm with an evil grin on his face, though his eyes were masking just the tiniest fraction of regret.

"Don't hold your breath, kid."

The ripples of shimmering took Chris by force, and all he could do when he realized where they were going was to close his eyes in his rising panic. No matter how hard he tried to change their destination during their short magical trip, Cole was way more experienced with this kind of transportation than him, and he didn't manage to throw the demon's aim off.

He felt the wooden floor under his feet before they could see them, but he didn't dare to open his eyes, not even after he was sure they finished moving. Maybe if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him either…

"Chris, we're…" he heard his youngest aunt starting off hurriedly, but her words died on her lips when she took in the sight of the newcomers. "C-Cole?"

Paige's voice sounded so distant to his ears that it made Chris consider the possibility of the whole scene being only a bad dream for a second. Maybe if he kept his eyes tightly shut long enough he wouldn't hear their voices anymore. Maybe if he didn't move for a while he would wake up soon.

"COLE!"

The voices didn't fade, of course – they only got stronger and fiercer by the minute. It looked like Chris wasn't in a dream, after all.

"How the—"

He didn't wake up as he so terribly wished he would, but that didn't manage to change one thing though…

"Get the hell away from my son!"

When he finally opened his eyes, he still found himself to be in the middle of a nightmare.

…

_Hi there! The one-shot and the other story with evil Chris is still under revision, sorry about the delay. But hey, here's an update, so don't start to throw rocks at me just yet. :D _

_A lot of you asked, so here's the deal: I know the updates come along slowly, but this is actually my fifth update this year, so I can assure __you all that I really, really plan to finish this story, I just happen to have a quite busy life with the whole college thing going on. Also… _

_*Hinthint:* Many people asked to bring future Wyatt back to the story, so I decided to give him some screen time in a later chapter. _

KYKEMD: _Yeah, I know nothing really happened in the last chapter, it was sort of just a filler. I'm sorry this story cannot hold your interest anymore, but I know it's been years, so thank you for staying with me for such a long time. ;)_

_And a big thanks goes to all the reviewers, it's really nice read your feedback. :) Hope you keep on giving me your input, it really makes my day._

_And as usual, many thanks to Cheerpup1392 for editing this chapter! :)_

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


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